At 79, he still walks with an easy grace, speaks in softly nuanced phrases and wears his fame nonchalantly, almost as if he were unaware of it.
Yet actor Gregory Peck remains every inch the classic Hollywood star, a pervasively suave veteran of a more elegant era, as he affirmed with every gentle anecdote and well-turned bon mot Friday night at the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet.
Seated in a director’s chair, with nothing but a small table beside him and a silver screen behind, the actor reminisced for roughly 90 minutes in “A Conversation With Gregory Peck,” a thoroughly beguiling one-man show.
Following a brief screening of highlights from Peck’s film career and a sweetly autobiographical soliloquy, Peck opened the floor to questions from the audience. His fans drew intriguing answers from him.
What was his favorite role in a film career that began 51 years ago?
” `To Kill a Mockingbird,’ ” said Peck, without hesitation. “It’s the one I’ll be remembered for, if I’m remembered at all. It has a life of its own, because it’s being played every day for the junior high schools. That (film) was a gift to me.”
How are today’s leading men different from those of an earlier age?
“Nowadays our heroes on the screen are not strong, steadfast, courageous and reliable-they’re morally ambivalent,” said Peck.
“The only hero we’ve had on the screen lately who represented all of those virtues is `Forrest Gump,’ and he was a little bit retarded. . . . Maybe that’s more true to life.”
What does Peck remember about filming “Roman Holiday” on location with Audrey Hepburn?
“The work was like play.”
Of course, Peck recalled his famous friends and collaborators, adroitly sketching their likenesses in a few well chosen words.
John Garfield: “A toughie with a heart of gold.”
Ava Gardner: “She was 23 the first time I worked with her, and when we were walking together down the lot, the electricians, the stagehands and everyone would stop in their tracks to watch this vision go by.”
And, again, Hepburn: “A wonderful girl, unique and precious. . . . She left a great deal of affection and love and warmth behind her, all over the world.”
The evening’s film clips proved the old notion that Hollywood’s most persuasive leading men, at least in Peck’s heyday, ultimately portrayed themselves on screen, bringing a certain set of values and temperaments to nearly every role.
Thus the introspective hero of “The Gunfighter,” the keenly intelligent protagonist of “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” and, above all, the inspired lawyer of “To Kill a Mockingbird” each represented facets of Peck’s own persona.
The man cannot be separated from the artist, which made this evening as alluring as any one of Peck’s starring roles on screen.
