Gregory Peck

In late November of 2005, thieves stole Peck's "Hollywood Walk of Fame" star using a cement saw to cut the bronze-and-terrazzo marker out of the sidewalk. In a simple ceremony, a new star honoring the late actor was unveiled on December 1st to replace the stolen one. Hollywood's honorary mayor Johnny Grant lifted a covering and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, we proudly welcome back to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Gregory Peck." Peck's star was the fourth to be stolen since the Walk of Fame was inaugurated. James Stewart's and Kirk Douglas' stars disappeared some years ago after being removed for construction and were later recovered by police in the nearby city of South Gate. Gene Autry's star also vanished during a construction project. A call saying it had been found in Iowa proved to be a false alarm.

In 2003, his Peck's portrayal of Atticus Finch was named the greatest film hero of the past 100 years by the American Film Institute.

He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington, D.C. (1998).

In 1997, as a presenter at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) awards ceremony, he said, "It just seems silly to me that something so right and simple has to be fought for at all.".

Honorary chair, Los Angeles Library Foundation. [1995]

In 1991, he appeared in the remake of his 1962 film, playing a different role, in Martin Scorsese's Cape Fear (1991).

He was also cast as the progressive-thinking owner of a wire and cable business in Other People's Money (1991).

He took in former co-star Ava Gardner's housekeeper and dog after her death on January 25, 1990.

In the 1980s, he moved into television with the miniseries The Blue and the Gray (1982) and The Scarlet And The Black (1983).

Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum (1979).

Josef Mengele in the huge hit The Boys from Brazil (1978).

After that, he returned to the bigger-than-life roles he was best known for, such as MacArthur (1977) and the monstrous Nazi Dr.

He made a comeback playing, somewhat woodenly, Robert Thorn in the horror film The Omen (1976).

Oldest son, Jon, committed suicide by gunshot. [1975]

Chairman, Motion Picture & Television Relief Fund. [1971]

In the early 1970s, he produced two films, The Trial of the Catonsville Nine (1972) and The Dove (1974), when his film career stalled.

Recipient, Presidential Medal of Freedom, nation's highest civilian award, awarded by Lyndon B. Johnson. [1969]

(1968-1974) Charter Member, National Council on the Arts.

In 1967, Peck received the Academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. He was also been awarded the US Presidential Medal of Freedom. Always politically progressive, he was active in such causes as anti-war protests, workers' rights and civil rights.

(1964-1966) Charter Member, National Council on the Arts.

(1963), which dealt with the way people live.

Peck finally won the Oscar, after four nominations, for his performance as lawyer Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962).

He also gave a powerful performance as Captain Keith Mallory in The Guns Of Navarone (1961), one of the biggest box-office hits of that year.

In the early 1960s, he appeared in two darker films than he usually made, Cape Fear (1962) and Captain Newman, M. D.

He was voted the 58th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.

Children with Veronique Peck: Tony Peck (b. 1956) and Cecilia Peck (b. 1958).

He worked with Audrey Hepburn in her debut film, Roman Holiday (1953).

He continued to appear as the heroic, larger-than-life figures in such films as Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951) and Moby Dick (1956).

He was nominated again for the Academy Award for his roles in Gentleman's Agreement (1947), which dealt with anti-Semitism, and Twelve O'Clock High (1949), a story of high-level stress in an Air Force bomber unit in World War II. With a string of hits to his credit, Peck made the decision to only work in films that interested him.

In The Yearling (1946), he was again nominated for an Academy Award and won the Golden Globe. He was especially effective in westerns and appeared in such varied fare as David O.

Selznick's critically blasted Duel in the Sun (1946), the somewhat better received Yellow Sky (1948) and the acclaimed The Gunfighter (1950).

He appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound (1945) as an amnesia victim accused of murder.

Stardom came with his next film, The Keys of the Kingdom (1944), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. Peck's screen presence displayed the qualities for which he became well known. He was tall, rugged and heroic, with a basic decency that transcended his roles.

By 1943, he was in Hollywood, where he debuted in the RKO film Days of Glory (1944).

His debut was in Emlyn Williams' play "The Morning Star" (1942).

Received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley (1939). He also rowed on the university's JV crew.

Attended and graduated from San Diego High School in San Diego, California (1934).

He was voted the 27th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere magazine.

His earliest movie memory is of being so scared by Phantom Of The Opera (1925) at age 9 that his grandmother allowed him to sleep in the bed with her that night.

Eldred Gregory Peck was born on April 5, 1916 in La Jolla, California, to Bernice Mary (Ayres) and Gregory Pearl Peck, a chemist and druggist in San Diego. He had Irish (from his paternal grandmother), English, and some German, ancestry. His parents divorced when he was five years old. An only child, he was sent to live with his grandmother. He never felt he had a stable childhood. His fondest memories are of his grandmother taking him to the movies every week and of his dog, which followed him everywhere. He studied pre-med at UC-Berkeley and, while there, got bitten by the acting bug and decided to change the focus of his studies. He enrolled in the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York and debuted on Broadway after graduation.