As an actor who conveyed moral certitude and unwavering strength,
Gregory Peck became the unofficial conscience of postwar Hollywood,
turning in several iconic performances in some of cinema's most
important films. Peck began appearing in movies during the war with
"Days of Glory" (1944) and became an almost instant star thanks to his
Oscar-nominated performance in "The Keys of the Kingdom" (1945). He went
on to portray an amnesiac psychoanalyst in Alfred Hitchcock's
"Spellbound" (1945), turned in another Academy Award-worthy performance
in 'The Yearling" (1946) and played against type in "Duel in the Sun"
(1946). Following seminal work in "Twelve O'Clock High" (1949), "Roman
Holiday" (1953) and "Moby Dick" (1956), Peck took on the role that
became inextricably tied to his career, that of Atticus Finch in "To
Kill a Mockingbird" (1962), which earned him his only Oscar for Best
Actor while inspiring audiences for generations. He had a major box
office hit with "The Guns of Navarone" (1961), starred in the original
"Cape Fear" (1962) and reunited with "Mockingbird" director Robert
Mulligan for "The Stalking Moon" (1969). His career began to slow in the
1970s, though he was notable in "The Omen" (1976) and "The Boys of
Brazil" (1978). Following a turn as Abraham Lincoln in "The Blue and the
Grey" (CBS, 1982) and his Emmy-nominated performance in a contemporary
remake of "Moby Dick" (USA, 1998), Peck left behind a legacy as an
iconic performer who exerted creative independence while becoming a beloved actor to generations fans.