In the classic film Roman Holiday, Audrey Hepburn’s character, a dazed runaway princess, finds herself asking Gregory Peck’s character, Joe, to help her undress. “I’ve never been alone with a man before,” she says with a sweet slur. Instead of taking advantage, Joe hands her a pair of his own pajamas and says he’s heading out for coffee. “You’re sleeping on the couch, not the bed,” he firmly warns her. This iconic moment perfectly captures the essence of Gregory Peck—a man who portrayed dignity and moral strength on screen and off.
A Career of Character
Over a half-century career, Gregory Peck became synonymous with gentlemanly grace and integrity. From his role as Joe in Roman Holiday to his unforgettable portrayal of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, Peck won an Oscar and the hearts of millions. Angie Dickinson once remarked, “There’s a quiet power in his being that is almost awesome.” Yet, behind the scenes, Gregory faced personal struggles, grappling with deep sorrow and the weight of his own expectations. The tragic suicide of his son in 1975 left him burdened with guilt. “If I had been here in Los Angeles, he would most certainly have called me,” Gregory confided, haunted by the thought of what might have been.
Roots of a Gentleman
Gregory’s belief in the importance of family stemmed from the painful breakup of his parents’ marriage when he was just 5 years old. “He was born in La Jolla, a small town in California,” explains Gregory’s son Stephen Peck, a former Marine and current president and CEO of U.S. Vets, a nonprofit aiding veterans. “His parents divorced when he was young, leaving him to spend many lonely days as a child.” Raised primarily by his grandmother, young Gregory, known then by his birth name Eldred, was sent to a military boarding school at the age of 10. There, he realized nearly all the other students were also from broken homes. “He had bits of insecurity from growing up in a divorced family,” Stephen recalls. “That kind of sticks with you.”
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In 1939, Gregory ventured to New York to study acting. He appeared in three Broadway plays before returning west for his film debut in the 1944 classic Days of Glory. Around this time, he married Greta Kukkonen, a hairdresser. Together, they had three sons: Jonathan, Stephen, and Carey Paul. Gregory embraced fatherhood with enthusiasm. “When we were very young, we went to Yosemite because he had done that with his dad,” Stephen reminisces.
The Hollywood Legend
In the bustling world of Hollywood, Gregory’s talent, relentless work ethic, and leading-man good looks set him apart. “He had that magic,” says Lynn Haney Trowbridge, a close friend and author of Gregory Peck: A Charmed Life. “Women flocked to the movie theaters to see him. He represented the kind of man you could count on—gracious, old-fashioned, but also adventurous.”
During the early years of building his career, Gregory’s dedication to his work often kept him away from home. “He was a good father, though he was gone a lot of the time. For a kid, that’s always a challenge,” Stephen admits. Greta also struggled with having an absentee husband. Their marriage began to falter when Gregory met Véronique Passani, a French journalist sent to interview him in 1952. “Six months later, while filming Roman Holiday, he called her up at her newspaper and found her,” shares their daughter, Cecilia Peck.
A New Chapter
The pair married the day after Gregory’s divorce was finalized in 1955. “Despite the 17-year age gap, they had a true partnership,” Trowbridge notes, adding that the couple became deeply involved in the National Council for the Arts, the nuclear disarmament movement, and other significant causes. “I’m not a do-gooder,” Gregory once said. “I simply take part in activities that I believe in.”
Véronique and Gregory welcomed children Anthony and Cecilia, but they also worked tirelessly to create a strong, blended family with Greta and Gregory’s older sons. “He liked bringing us all together,” Stephen says, remembering his father as someone who dispensed thoughtful advice. “He was always present and a really good listener.”
A Heartbreaking Loss
The suicide of his son Jonathan, at the age of 30, left Gregory, who was traveling in France with Véronique, utterly shocked and devastated. Jonathan, a TV newsman, had been grappling with health issues, a difficult breakup, the loss of a friend, and work-related troubles at the time of his death. “I’d have told him, ‘If the job is too much pressure, quit it, tell ‘em to stuff it,’” Gregory lamented, never fully recovering from the loss.
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