Peck

Peck, Gregory, 1916-2003, American movie actor, b. La Jolla, Calif., as Eldred Gregory Peck. Peck studied at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse and debuted on Broadway in The Morning Star (1942) and in film in Days of Glory (1944). He achieved stardom in 1944 with his role in The Keys to the Kingdom and went on to become one of the screen's most enduring leading men. Tall and dark with a resonant baritone voice, Peck often portrayed characters who displayed quiet strength and nobility in the face of adversity, as he did most notably in his Academy Award-winning role of Alabama lawyer Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). Among the many other movies in which he starred are Spellbound (1945), Gentleman's Agreement (1947), Twelve O'Clock High (1949), The Gunfighter (1950), Roman Holiday (1953), Moby Dick (1956), On the Beach (1959), Cape Fear (1962, 1991), The Omen (1976), The Boys from Brazil (1978), and Old Gringo (1989). He appeared in several television productions in the 1980s and 90s. A prominent Hollywood liberal who was active in many charities, Peck also served as chairman (1967-69) of the American Film Institute and president (1967-70) of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

peck: see English units of measurement.

(born April 5, 1916, La Jolla, Calif., U.S.—died June 12, 2003, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. film actor. While a premed student at the University of California at Berkeley, he developed a taste for acting. He appeared on Broadway in The Morning Star (1942) and played several other stage roles before making his film debut in Days of Glory (1944). Known for playing likeable, honest men of high moral quality, he starred in movies such as The Keys of the Kingdom (1944), Spellbound (1945), Gentleman's Agreement (1947), Twelve O'Clock High (1949), Roman Holiday (1953), and To Kill a Mockingbird (1962, Academy Award). His later films include MacArthur (1977), The Old Gringo (1989), and Cape Fear (1991). He also served for three years as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

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A peck is an imperial and U.S. customary unit of dry volume, equivalent in each of these systems to 8 dry quarts, or 16 dry pints. Two pecks make a kenning (obsolete), and four pecks make a bushel.

In Scotland, the peck was used as a dry measure until the introduction of imperial units as a result of the Weights and Measures Act of 1824. The peck was equal to about 9 litres (in the case of certain crops, such as wheat, peas, beans and meal) and about 13 litres (in the case of barley, oats and malt). A firlot was equal to 4 pecks and the peck was equal to 4 lippies or forpets.

A peck is also the standard measurement used when weighing rocks or minerals.

Conversions

• 1 imperial peck = 9.09218 litres
• 1 U.S. peck = 8.80977 litres