Gregory Peck
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Gregory Peck, the well remembered actor, began his acting career in the 1940’s, People loved him and respected him on and off the stage. Not only was he a talented man, he was also very generous and deeply involved in politics.
The story of this great actor began on April 15, 1916 in La Jolla, California (Fishgall insert). The name Gregory had been a family name, but Bunny, Peck’s mother, did not find this quite suitable for her son. She searched through her yearbook and chose the name Eldred. Her new baby boy was to be named Eldred Gregory Peck (Fishgall 23). Three years later, Peck’s parents, Gregory Pearl Peck and Bunny Peck, filed for divorce (Avery 143). After the divorce of his parents, he was sent off to live with his grandmother, Catherine (Fishgall 31). Over the next couple of years, he was forced to separate his time between his mom, dad, and grandmother (Avery 133).
Peck’s love for the movies came early in his life. As a young boy, he stumbled upon the making of a film. He says it was one of the most memorable experiences he’s ever had (Fishgall 29, 30). In the fifth grade, Peck performed in his first play, not knowing there would be many more to come. It was called “Pandora’s Box”, based on the Greek myth (Fishgall 31). Peck would not return to the stage until college.
While in high school, although being shy, he participated in sports and
various organizations. He was a member of San Diego High School’s rowing and football teams, and also took part in the glee club called Walter (Pop) Reyer. “If you could hit a
few notes, you were in. I tried never to be heard,” Peck recalled (Jones 2). After growing eleven inches between the ages of fifteen and seventeen, he was a skinny and gawky six
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foot two inches tall teenager. This of course not convincing himself he was attractive in any way. One man remembers, “He had dark black hair that he kept perfectly combed. He wore a lot of pastel colors in those days and was quite sought after by the opposite sex” (Fishgall 36). Secretly, Peck idolized the star of the varsity football team, praising and looking up to anything that he did. He said, “I was too shy to speak to him, but I used to watch him, admire everything that he did, and glow over his triumphs” (Fishgall 35)
After graduating from high school in 1933, the young Peck set off for San Diego State University to become a doctor (Jones 2). Peck soon realized it just wasn’t the right thing for him to do. He took mainly science, but his struggle with chemistry and calculus soon pointed him to different career choices (Fishgall 42). Peck said that he could either be a newspaper reporter, an interview writer, or a college professor. He had said he was “comfortable with those and just loved them in fact” (Jones 2). Soon Peck would be led in yet another direction. While walking along campus, a man named James Fitzgerald randomly introduced himself. He explained he was directing scenes from Moby Dick and strongly encouraged him to audition, thinking he would make the perfect “Starbuck” (Fishgall 43). Theatre had never been of interest to him until then. Peck recalls, “I don’t know why I said yes. I guess I was just fearless and it seemed like it might be fun. I wasn’t any good, but I ended up doing five plays my last year in college” (Avery 43). Peck never have thought he would develop a love for acting.
Theatre made a huge impact on Peck in college. The brief experience got Peck
hooked, and after graduating from college, he immediately went to New York to pursue a new dream (Avery 143). While on his way to New York in 1939, he decided to start
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calling himself by his middle name, Gregory. He had thought that because he was embarking on a new life, he needed a new name (Fishgall 49). Peck had performed in more than twenty shows before being spotted by leading Broadway director, Guthrie Mclintock. She cast him in a small role for the tour of George Bernard Shaw’s, “The Doctor’s Dillemma”. Peck said, “I got Mr. Danby with a scene in the third act. And I was assistant stage manager. I watched that distinguished company at work and I began to soak up how they do it” (Jones 3).
Later Peck began trying out for acting schools. He was told to take a dance class by Martha Graham. While dancing, he developed a back injury. Which kept him out of World War II and off the stage (Jones 3). A man named David Pressmen, whom Peck knew said this about his early career,
“The thing I remember most about Peck at this time, is that there was
nothing phony about him-in his personality or when he acted. You know
some actors come with whole fixed notion of what they want the world to