Gregory
Peck (born Eldred Gregory Peck) was an American actor who is best remembered for
his Academy Award-winning role as Atticus Finch, a Southern lawyer who fought
against racism in the 1962 movie, To Kill a Mockingbird. This character
will forever be remembered as the model father figure who helped show that compassion,
integrity and pacifism are really at the heart of true heroism. The American Film
Institute named Gregory Peck's portrayal as Atticus Finch the top hero ever in
US movie history. Gregory Peck had a prolific movie career and chose parts that
he believed in. For example, he was nominated for an Academy Award for his role
in "Gentleman's Agreement," a 1947 film which addressed the controversial
subject of anti-Semitism in America. He made two movies about the threat of nuclear
war -- the 1959 film, On the Beach, about the aftermath of a nuclear war
and the 1987 film, Amazing Grace & Chuck about a Little Leaguer who
convinces the U.S. President, played by Gregory Peck, to adopt policies leading
to global nuclear disarmament. Offscreen, Gregory Peck was involved in many humanitarian
causes for a better world. He helped raise funds and awareness for cancer research,
gun control, and for civil rights in America. He received many honors for his
humanitarian work. President Lyndon Johnson awarded him the Presidential Medal
of Freedom, the Academy of the Arts awarded him the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian
Award, and Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, awarded him the second annual
Marian Anderson Award for his humanitarian efforts.
