Film
Gregory Peck
Actor, Academy Award for To Kill a Mockingbird
Born 1916 · Died 2003
Photo: Studio · Public domain
Gregory Peck played Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, a performance the American Film Institute later named the greatest film hero of all time. He spent much of his career on roles about moral courage and was equally active in civil rights causes.
Key achievements
- Academy Award for Best Actor, To Kill a Mockingbird, 1963
- Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1969
- Discovered acting in the Berkeley drama club
Universities
Berkeley, California
Took a bachelor's degree in English in 1939, having joined the drama department after a rowing coach recruited him for the crew.
Facts
- He rowed for Berkeley and only took an acting class because a coach suggested it would improve his posture.
- He was nominated for an Academy Award four times in his first five years in film.
- Harper Lee, who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, gave him her father's pocket watch after seeing his performance.
Photographs
Photographs come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences; the author and licence are shown on each image.