Hollywood legend Gregory Peck had everything expected of an idol. And on top of that a Finnish wife.
Could Gregory Peck (1916–2003) have been seen as a sincere ally of Turkish film? Or maybe as a handsome agronomist in a romantic comedy?
Of course, the language barrier may have made it difficult to work in Finland, but Peck didn’t have to seek success outside his home country. The actor was in demand in Hollywood right from his film debut, Days of Glory (1944). That’s what Gregory Peck says in the French TV documentary Close-Up.
Peck’s career also involved social upheaval. Photo: Liceo D’Aloisio, Zuma Press
Peck’s film and television career spans more than 50 years and more than 50 films. Along with this there was social upheaval. Peck began an acting career at the beginning of World War II, when the United States was still reeling from the Great Depression.
He was at the peak of his career when communism was feared in the film industry and people who believed in it were hunted down. This was followed by the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement’s struggles against racism.
Peck expressed his support for allies suspected of communist sympathies and discriminated minorities. He also stated that he was against the Vietnam War.
In a family photo, Gregory Peck and his Finnish-born wife Greta and son Jonathan. Photo: Snap, Zuma Press
In Finland, Peck was better known for his opinions than for his marriage. He was the husband of Finnish-born Greta Kukkonen. The couple met on a theater tour, where Kukkonen was involved as a hairdresser and Peck as a stand-in. They married in 1942.
In close-up, Gregory Peck recounts the actor’s extensive career chronologically. The story begins in 1916, when a boy named Eldred is born in California. Childhood and youth fast forward in less than five minutes.
A decisive step in his career was his first major theater role in 1942. After that, Peck wrote to his father that he would never lower himself from Hollywood than he would on the stage of the theater.
In the film Holiday in Rome in 1953 with Audrey Hepburn. Photo: Yale
However, three years later, he had already starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s film Bewitched. “He was an actor and not a prophet,” says Kerry Peck, the star’s son, in the documentary.
It was as a film actor that Peck left a huge mark on American cultural history. Peck is known for his roles in the films Gun in the Hand (1950), Holiday in Rome (1953) and How to Kill a Nightingale (1962), among others. For the latter, he finally received an Oscar after four nominations.
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962): Gregory Peck and Brock Peters. Photo: Globe Photos
Career continued till 1998. Peck died five years after its completion. Helsingin Sanomat’s Upside wrote that “his steady presence in front of the cameras made him one of the cornerstones of American cinema, a character who felt believable even in the worst of films”.
The former spouses attended the wedding of their son Stephen in 1978. Photo: Globe Photos, Zuma Press
Although Peck, despite his Finnish connections, did not end up in local productions, work brought him to Finland. The Hollywood actor visited Helsinki in 1953 to promote his new film The Snows of Kilimanjaro. The trip is not mentioned in the documentary, but at Yale Arena you can find the Finnish report, Gregory Peck Goes to Finland, completed the same year.
Yale’s ten-minute black-and-white film is rather uninteresting fan material. It begins at Setula airport, where hundreds of fans are waiting for the famous actor. The narration alludes to both the color of Peck’s suit and his “sight makes women’s hearts skip a beat”.
The camera follows Peck over a few days from Helsinki Cathedral to the Olympic Stadium and from representative dinners to meetings with film journalists.
While Finland’s connection to French documentary is tenuous, it plays a prominent role in domestic reportage. However, the fact remains that Greta Peck is not with her husband. Hindsights know the reason for the absence: the couple’s marriage was in its final stages. Gregory Peck was already in love with French journalist Véronique Passon.
Gregory Peck photographed with his wife, Véronique, at their home in Beverly Hills in 1974. Photo: Ron Mesaros, Zuma Press
The Finns may have lost their son-in-law, but as time went on and the French documentary shows, the film star’s reputation grew in the world.
Close-up Gregory Peck will be shown on Saturday 20.5. 20:00 on Theme & Fame channel.
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