Talk:Gregory Peck

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[edit] So Fix It

"The Trial of the Catonsville Nine" is by Daniel Berrigan, not Philip. Fixed it. --151.199.16.234 00:56, 24 September 2005 (UTC)

I dropped this about his death:

...died at his Los Angeles home, with his second wife, Veronique, at his side."

If that is put back in it needs a source. I have read that Peck and Veronique had been quietly separated for many years - and even that she attended his funeral with her current companion. If I can find a source I'll cite it and note the article accordingly. Ellsworth 18:43, 13 Apr 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Armenian?

There is a story from the IMDB that Peck had some distant Armenian ancestry (which even if true would still not qualify him for Armenian-Americans, the ethnicity-American categories include only people 1/4 or more of that ethnicity). A couple of websites reposted that exact same IMDB quote (including adherents.com). But there is nothing else on the net to support this and the IMDB is complete, utter, absolutely undisputed crap when it comes to bio details like that. I've read a book bio of Peck and it didn't mention anything about any Armenian roots. Does anyone have a good source or know for sure? Vulturell 00:08, 15 November 2005 (UTC)

Good point....but i keep hearing it by the Armenian community...once a story is told it sort of sticks and becomes fact...I think he has no link to Armenia although he did learn the language, maybe thats why the confusion arizes..

Actually he is listed as an Aromanian, not an Armenian.

The only information about his ancestry we got is the imdb page, Armenian forums and fan biography pages. I'm guessing the majority of this articles information was copied from those fan pages. [1] Vartanm 01:44, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

I definitely think it should be taken out--the probability that Gregory Peck's grandfather, born around 1865 in the USA, would have any Armenian ancestry is virtually zero. There is no reputable source supporting this, and as far as I can tell, none of the many intrepid celebrity genealogists on the internet even know the parentage of Samuel Peck. I'm taking it out. TMiscia 04:30, 29 March 2007 (UTC)


"Gregory Peck: a Charmed Life" by Lynn Haney states "Gregory Peck Sr. came from Rochester, NY. His mother [Catherine Ashe] was an Irish immigrant and his father was of English descent." Another source "Gregory Peck A Biography" by Gary Fishgall (mentioned in the article) states "There [Rochester, NY] she [Catherine Ashe] eventually met and married a young local of English descent by the name of Samuel Peck." 66.213.29.2 11:56, 12 October 2007 (UTC)Iwerdhon

[edit] Maddox referance

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=real_men Is this a relevant enough link to put on the page? Jackpot Den 02:54, 19 April 2006 (UTC)

Of course it is. Karatloz 01:30, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

I do not believe it is

[edit] Pecks real birth date

Can 1916 be the correct year of Peck's birth? Actors often fudge this. My dad, Samuel G. Harter, went to San Diego High School with Peck and mentioned that he knew him. I know this to be the case because I looked in his copy of the Grey Castle (as it was called) yearbook and saw both Eldred Peck and my father in it. My father was born in 1910, so the annual (which I haven't seen lately) could have been for around 1927 or 1928 perhaps. If San Diego High then included freshmen through seniors, I suppose Peck could have been four years younger than my dad. If, however, it included grades now thought of as junior high or middle school, 1916 could be correct. George Weinberg-Harter 16:35, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] pic

I think we should remove the picture of the 2003 photo of Peck. First of all, no one remembers him well as a long, white-haired man with a mustache and sunglasses. I myself have never seen a recent photo of him, and remember him only as the prominent actor in "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Guns of Navarone." We should replace the picture with a photo of him during his time of acting. Oyo321 03:47, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

That's ridiculous. This is an article about the man; the 2003 photo is no less Gregory Peck (it's worth mentioning that he did speaking tours around the world in his last years). Rhombus 07:16, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Screwy chronology

The article currently reads: "After graduating, Class of 1942 from Berkeley with a BA degree in English, Peck dropped the name "Eldred" and headed to New York City to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse. He was often broke and sometimes slept in Central Park. He worked at the 1939 World's Fair and as a tour guide for NBC's television broadcasting.

He made his Broadway debut as the lead in Emlyn Williams' The Morning Star in 1942. His second Broadway performance that year was in The Willow and I with Edward Pawley. Peck's acting abilities were in high demand during World War II, since he was exempt from military service owing to a back injury suffered while receiving dance and movement lessons from Martha Graham as part of his acting training. Twentieth Century Fox claimed he had injured his back while rowing at university, but in Peck's words, "In Hollywood, they didn't think a dance class was macho enough, I guess. I've been trying to straighten out that story for years."

So what is it? How do you graduate UC Berkeley in 1942 but debut on Broadway all while sleeping in Central Park? Did he go to New York in 1939? Something doesn't add up. Rhombus 07:16, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Ambassador to Ireland

There is no evidence of this interview to be found anywhere. In 1970 John Peck was appointed as UK ambassador to Ireland, he served until 1973. Is it possible that this is the origin of the Peck ambassadorship to Ireland? Forget for a minute that it is even a different country. Any insight? List of Ambassadors from the United Kingdom to the Republic of Ireland Liamfoley 16:21, 14 October 2007 (UTC)

Have you contacted Irish America Magazine? WikiDon 17:24, 14 October 2007 (UTC)
I sent them an email. If someone has an account at their website, or a copy of the issue, they might have the article. WikiDon 17:54, 14 October 2007 (UTC)

Re the statement "In 1970 John Peck was appointed as UK ambassador to Ireland, he served until 1973. Is it possible that this is the origin of the Peck ambassadorship to Ireland?" don't be ridiculous. It has nothing to do with Sir John Peck, who wrote about his ambassadorship later in Dublin from Downing Street. Johnson informed Gregory Peck that he had seriously contempted making the appointment. It is among the Johnson papers, and the Irish embassy papers from the period. Peck repeated the information frequently, including on interviews on Irish television.(I think he did it once on the Late Late Show, if I remember correctly.) It has since been repeated in articles about Peck in the Sunday Times, Sunday Independent, and featured in at least one Peck biography, but as it is at least 15 years since I read the book I forget the name of the book. At this stage I forget the date of the most recent time it was published, but it would have been in or around the date the comment was added into the article. The appointment obviously was killed off when the Johnson didn't contest the presidency and Nixon, who hated the man, was elected instead as president. FearÉIREANN\(caint) 20:23, 14 October 2007 (UTC)

From Michael Freedland's biography of Peck: At a 1968 farewell party for President Lyndon Johnson at the Plaza Hotel in New York, "President Johnson appeared at their table -- and spoke to Veronique [Mrs. Peck]. 'Would you care to dance?' he asked.... As they danced, the massive L.B.J. bulk towered over her. But they did manage to talk. 'You know, Veronique,' he said. 'We both have something in common.' 'I'm honoured, Mr. President,' she replied, 'to know that I have something in common with you. What is it?' 'That we both love Gregory,' he replied, and then he added; 'If I had decided to run for another term, I was going to offer him the post of Ambassador to Ireland.' He then told her the consolation prize that he was able to offer. He revealed for the first time that he was giving Greg the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the country." Monkeyzpop 22:19, 14 October 2007 (UTC)

You forget a lot for something you are so sure about! The point of a discussion page is to discuss issues before they can be entered in the encyclopedia and take on some authority. What remains is there is no concrete evidence that Peck was ever offered an ambassadorship. Nice anecdote but wheres the substance? Liamfoley 14:35, 29 October 2007 (UTC)

If you take a moment and read the anecdote, you will find the substance lies in the fact that Peck WASN'T offered an ambassadorship, despite Johnson's erstwhile intentions to do so. The anecdote was offered to clear up the matter. I have little doubt that it did so for most people. Monkeyzpop 06:00, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Anecdotes are nice stories to share over a pint but they are not history and cannot be verified without first or even second hand sources. You have neither. I read the anecdote, sounds typically Irish, I want to see proof. Liamfoley (talk) 19:06, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

Gregory peck is alumni of The Barter Theater in Abingdon, Virginia yet it is not listed anywhere on here or on IMDB? I wonder why?76.4.74.156 (talk) 03:22, 26 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Thomas Ashe

Great to see this here- but it's only mentioned! I hate to sound a bit Irish here [mar dhea!], but does anybody know his precise relationship to Tom Ashe? Where have all the genealogists gone? 86.42.77.166 (talk) 07:05, 20 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Youtube videos

Youtube videos should not be added to this article. Bellwether BC 04:52, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Peck's death

To answer the editor who asked "What's oR?": OR is "original research," a Wikipedia no-no. It means everything (supposedly) has to have a citable reference work to back it up, or it's not allowable, even if it's true. But if you've seen the death certificate in a book, it's an easy matter to cite the book. Or you can cite the death certificate itself (using county reference numbers on the certificate). It's irksome sometimes, but it keeps people from filling up WP with stuff they "just know" but which no one else can confirm. Hope this helps. Monkeyzpop (talk) 23:49, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] WP:WikiProject Actors and Filmmakers priority assessment

Per debate and discussion re: assessment of the approximate 100 top priority articles of the project, this article has been included as a top priority article. Wildhartlivie (talk) 07:21, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

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