On This Day

Birthday of Gregory Peck

April 5th 1916

11:38 5 April 2024

American actor Gregory Peck was born on this day in 1916. One of the most popular movie stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Gregory Peck made his film debut in 'Days of Glory' (1944). The film was not a success but he had caught the attention of Hollywood producers and was cast to play the lead role in 'The Keys of the Kingdom' (1944). It proved to be his breakthrough performance and he earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

His next movie 'The Valley of Decision' (1944) was North America's highest-grossing film of 1945 and was followed by two collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock: 'Spellbound' (1945) and 'The Paradine Case' (1947) as well as the family drama 'The Yearling' (1945) for which he won the Golden Globe for Best Actor.

He continued to have great success throughout the 1950s in films including 'The Gunfighter' (1950), 'Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N.' (1951), 'The Snows of Kilimanjaro' (1952), 'Roman Holiday' (1953), 'Moby Dick' (1956) and 'The Big Country' (1958).

Peck starred in the film adaptation of Alistair MacLean's 'The Guns of Navarone' (1961) which was the highest-grossing film of the year and won his only Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Atticus Finch in 'To Kill a Mockingbird' (1962). Other 1960s film credits include 'Cape Fear' (1962), 'How the West Was Won' (1962), 'Arabesque' (1966), 'Mackenna's Gold' (1969) and 'Marooned' (1969).

He remained hugely prolific towards the end of his career, starring in the films 'The Omen' (1976), 'MacArthur' (1977), 'The Boys from Brazil' (1978) and 'The Sea Wolves' (1980) and had a cameo role in the Martin Scorsese remake of 'Cape Fear' (1991).

Gregory Peck died in his sleep aged 87 at his home in Los Angeles in 2003. His stature as one of the Hollywood greats remains undiminished.