Gregory Peck's Real Name: Eldred Gregory Peck

Quick answer: Gregory Peck's documented full name is Eldred Gregory Peck. Encyclopaedia Britannica and the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers record that he was born on April 5, 1916, in La Jolla, California, and that he died on June 12, 2003, in Los Angeles. He was an American actor best known for principled leading roles, especially Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (Britannica; Encyclopedia.com).

Real name and early life

The Library of Congress heading is "Peck, Gregory, 1916-2003," with the variant "Peck, Eldred Gregory, 1916-2003." The International Dictionary opens with that birth name and place and notes that he attended high school in San Diego, St. John's Military Academy in Los Angeles, San Diego State University, and the University of California, Berkeley, graduating in 1939, then spent two years at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse under Sanford Meisner. Britannica describes him as a pharmacist's son who studied at military school and San Diego State College before enrolling at Berkeley as a premed student, where he developed a taste for acting. After graduation he moved to New York, studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse, and supported himself as a Radio City Music Hall usher and as a barker at the 1939 World's Fair. His Broadway debut was in The Morning Star (1942).

Career highlights

Invited to Hollywood, Peck made his film debut as a Russian guerrilla in Days of Glory (1944). Britannica says an earlier spinal injury kept him from serving in World War II and helped him emerge as a leading man of the 1940s. He received his first Academy Award nomination as a missionary priest in The Keys of the Kingdom (1944) and a second for Gentleman's Agreement (1947), as a journalist who poses as a Jew to expose antisemitism. Other 1940s credits include The Valley of Decision, Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound, Duel in the Sun, The Yearling, and Yellow Sky. He later appeared with Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday (1953). Britannica singles out work for director Henry King, including Twelve O'Clock High (1949) and The Gunfighter (1950), and notes that he won the Academy Award for To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). Later films include The Omen (1976), MacArthur (1977), and The Boys from Brazil (1978). Outside film, he served as chairman of the American Cancer Society and of the American Film Institute trustee board, which he cofounded, and as Academy president. The International Dictionary also records that he cofounded the La Jolla Playhouse in 1948.

Death

Britannica and the International Dictionary both record that Peck died on June 12, 2003, in Los Angeles, California.

Name notes for searchers

Eldred Gregory Peck is the documented full name; he was known professionally as Gregory Peck. Searchers looking for Atticus Finch or the Roman Holiday costar are usually aiming at the same person.