Gregory Peck: storytelling's in the genes

By BRENT CUNNINGHAM
Reporter Staff

Gregory Peck brought a touch of Irish storytelling to the UB Center for the Arts last Thursday.

Winner of an Academy Award for his role as Atticus Finch in the 1962 "To Kill a Mockingbird," Peck has been a Hollywood icon since 1943, when he starred as an Irish priest in "The Keys to the Kingdom." Recalling both his life in movies and his family background, Peck found a common theme in the "story:" both the stories he has told on screen as an actor and the storytelling habits of his Irish-American father.

Many in the audience were surprised to learn that Peck's roots pass through Western New York-his father was born in Rochester, and attended Niagara University, eventually following Peck's grandmother to California. But, said Peck, his father also spent time in Ireland as a boy.

"He used to tell me that in Ireland, the only form of entertainment was storytelling," he recalled. "They would sit around a fire, tell stories, sing songs and once in awhile ride in a pony-cart to the town of Dingle for a dance."

While Peck, sitting on stage in an armchair with a lamp and table at his side, did his best to recreate some of that rustic simplicity, those who came to see a Hollywood event hosted by a Hollywood star were not disappointed. The evening included film clips from a medley of Peck's films, including "Roman Holiday," "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," "The Guns of Navarone," "Old Gringo" and an out-take from "MacArthur." Peck also shared behind-the-scenes stories about celebrated actresses like Audrey Hepburn and Ava Gardner, recalled joking with Gary Cooper and John Wayne, and described his early days working in New York theater. "To Kill a Mockingbird," he revealed, is still his favorite film from his own body of work, while "Moby Dick" was the most physically demanding.

"I nearly got killed in the Irish Sea, riding that rubber whale," he said. "I was lost at sea. We were probably eight miles out from the coast of Wales, and the water was freezing."

Generally known for playing upright "leading men," Peck also remembered the stir he caused when he agreed to play the reviled Nazi experimenter Dr. Mengele.

"I wanted to let the producers know that I'm now ready for the 'character' role," joked the 82-year-old Peck.

During the last half of the evening, Peck answered questions from audience members, many of whom expressed nostalgia for what they saw as a better, more heroic era in movies.

"The film studios are owned by huge conglomerates," Peck responded. "They publish magazines and newspapers, they own baseball teams and amusement parks, television shows, records. You know, it's commerce. They have stockholders. They have to show a good bottom line at the end of the year, so obviously it militates against originality, creativity, surprise, off-beat subjects. What they would really love to do is make a repeatable product, like an automobile or a refrigerator."

"But," he cautioned, "I think the answer is that you have to go shopping. And if you do, if you shop carefully, you'll find a dozen or 15 good pictures every year."

Peck had a better opinion of contemporary theater, and he recommended it to aspiring actors and actresses. "I think the best advice is still to go on the stage," he said. "Church theater, community theater, regional theater: just get out there and learn by doing. You know, if you get out there and the audience is restless and coughing, or even if they get up and walk out, you know you're not doing your job, you're not telling the story, you're not holding their interest."