“Forgotten Hollywood”- Gregory Peck Honored with a Stamp!
Manny P. here…
The Legends of Hollywood commemorative stamp series has recently included Katharine Hepburn, Gary Cooper, John Wayne, and Cary Grant. Add Gregory Peck to this impressive list. The star of motion pictures as Gentleman’s Agreement, The Yearling, Duel in the Sun, and Roman Holiday has been lionized by the U.S. Postal Service for his starring role from To Kill a Mockingbird (for which he received an Oscar for Best Actor in 1962). In 2003, the American Film Institute ranked Atticus Finch the #1 movie hero in American cinema. Harper Lee’s first and only novel turns 50 this year.
Last week, the stamp was unveiled at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Since Peck was a member of the Academy and served as its president, the organization chose to host this prestigious program. The Postal Service set up a counter in the lobby so the general public could purchase first-day issues of this stamp.
Among the folk in attendance: his widow Veronique, his children, Christopher Dodd (the President of the Motion Picture Association of America {MPAA} and former Connecticut senator), director Martin Scorsese, and actors Sidney Poitier, Morgan Freeman, Laura Dern, and Sharon Stone, who emceed the ceremony. Also on hand was Mary Badham, who played Finch’s daughter Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird. The event concluded with a nostalgic documentary on Peck.
Legends of Hollywood Stamp Series
Marilyn Monroe issued June 1, 1995 - James Dean issued June 24, 1996
- Humphrey Bogart issued July 31, 1997
- Alfred Hitchcock issued August 3, 1998
- James Cagney issued July 22, 1999
- Edward G. Robinson issued October 24, 2000
- Lucille Ball issued August 6, 2001
- Cary Grant issued October 15, 2002
- Audrey Hepburn issued June 11, 2003
- John Wayne issued September 9, 2004
- Henry Fonda issued May 20, 2005
Judy Garland issued June 10, 2006 - Jimmy Stewart issued August 17, 2007
- Bette Davis issued September 18, 2008
- Gary Cooper issued September 10, 2009
- Katharine Hepburn issued May 12, 2010
It’s great to see the Postal Service help us remember Gregory Peck in the most visible of ways.
Until next time> “never forget”
This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011 at 12:05 am and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
You must be logged in to post a comment.