Gregory Peck - leading man - (1916-2003)
As far as I’m concerned, Gregory Peck was the ultimate leading man. He was the man so many of us dreamed of meeting someday: full of unwavering integrity, determination, honesty, wisdom, gentleness, charm, subtle wit, and strength.
He brought all of these qualities to almost every character he portrayed. Whether he was a backwoods Florida farmer (The Yearling, 1946), a reporter (Gentleman’s Agreement, 1947; Roman Holiday, 1953), a retired sea captain turned Texas greenhorn (Big Country, 1958), a smalltown lawyer and single father (To Kill a Mockingbird, 1962) or president Abraham Lincoln (The Blue and the Gray, 1982).
Then you add to all of that the fact that he was the very definition of “tall, dark and handsome”…that straight square jawline, those doe eyes that could just make you melt, that charmingly disarming cockeyed smile - it all added up to perfectly balanced masculinity: 0% macho, 100% man.
