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November 21, 2006 Motion Picture Academy Celebrates
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Veronique Peck (left), widow of Oscar-winning actor Gregory Peck, and Academy President Sid Ganis showcased Gregory Peck's extensively annotated copy of the script for "To Kill a Mockingbird," as a symbol of the richness of the entire collection. |
Beverly Hills, CA — A special celebration of the gift of the Gregory Peck Collection to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences took place on Monday, November 20, with Peck family, friends and industry colleagues, gathering for the occasion in the Academy’s Grand Lobby and in the Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
In one of the highlights of the evening, Veronique Peck, wife of the Oscar®-winning actor, and Academy President Sid Ganis displayed Peck’s extensively annotated personal copy of the script for “To Kill a Mockingbird” as a symbol of the richness of the entire collection. Peck, who served three terms as president of the organization with which he was closely associated for over a half-century, was also a longtime governor of the Academy’s Actors Branch.
“We’re delighted to provide a home for the Gregory Peck Collection, documenting the life and career of one of the most iconic figures in our cultural history,” said Ganis. “We are giving it our usual meticulous care, and we’ll make sure that it’s available for film researchers for years to come.”
The celebration, which featured a screening of “A Conversation with Gregory Peck,” the revealing 1999 documentary directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple and co-produced by Cecilia Peck, the actor’s daughter, also included remarks and personal insights by both Kopple and Cecilia Peck.
“Our family is very gratified that my husband’s scripts and personal papers reflecting his lifetime of work as an artist will be at a special place,” said Veronique Peck. “Our continuing gift of these materials will enable scholars who love film – and who also loved Gregory’s contributions to filmmaking – to gain deeper insights into the process. In the end, the Gregory Peck Collection can only reflect the greater magic that is filmmaking, and it is through the films themselves that he will live on as long as movies are seen.”
The Gregory Peck Collection, which is the result of an ongoing donation to the Academy by Gregory and Veronique Peck, contains materials that span more than 50 years, is housed at the Academy’s Margaret Herrick Library in Beverly Hills. It documents the actor-producer’s career from his earliest roles in student productions at the University of California, Berkeley through his many decades as one of Hollywood’s most popular and revered stars. Included are scripts, production documents and photographs related to many of his stage, film and television performances, as well as professional correspondence and scrapbooks.
The collection also contains extensive documentation of Peck’s contributions to the Hollywood community and to the larger worlds of the arts, culture and politics. There are files relating to his Academy work as well as his involvement with such organizations as the National Council on the Arts, the American Film Institute, the Motion Picture and Television Relief Fund and the American Cancer Society. Peck received the Presidential Medal of Freedom – the nation’s highest citizen award – from President Lyndon B. Johnson, and the Medal of Arts from President William J. Clinton.
Born Eldred Gregory Peck in La Jolla, California, Peck received an Academy Award® in 1962 for his portrayal of Atticus Finch, his most beloved and enduring screen role, in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” He also received nominations for his lead performances in “The Keys of the Kingdom,” “The Yearling,” “Gentleman’s Agreement” and “Twelve O’Clock High.”
In 1967 Peck was honored with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (an Oscar statuette), given to those individuals in motion pictures “whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry.”
The Margaret Herrick Library, one of the world’s most extensive and comprehensive research collections on motion pictures, was founded in 1928 and was later named for its first librarian. It maintains a world-renowned, non-circulating reference and research collection devoted to the history and development of motion pictures as an art form and as an industry. The library is supported through the Academy Foundation, the educational and cultural arm of the Academy.
For more information on the Margaret Herrick Library and its collections, visit www.oscars.org/mhl.
Editors: Please note that downloadable images are available at http://photos.oscars.org/.
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©A.M.P.A.S.®
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
8949 Wilshire Boulevard Beverly Hills, CA 90211-1972
(310) 247-3000
www.oscars.org
publicity@oscars.org
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