Editing Gregory Peck (section)

==Politics==
In 1947, while many Hollywood figures were being [[Hollywood blacklist|blacklist]]ed for similar activities, Peck signed a letter deploring a [[House Un-American Activities Committee]] investigation of alleged communists in the film industry.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=U.S. House of Representatives. Committee on Un-American Activities. 1945-1969 (Predecessor) |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/25466014 |title=Statement of the Committee for the First Amendment |last2=U.S. House of Representatives. Committee on Internal Security. 1969-1975 |date=c. 1947 |series=File Unit: Organization Files of the Files and Reference Section of the Internal Security Committee During the 79th through 94th Congresses, 1945 - 1976 |access-date=March 14, 2022 |archive-date=March 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314235523/https://catalog.archives.gov/id/25466014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A life-long [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], Peck was suggested in 1970 as a possible Democratic candidate to run against [[Ronald Reagan]] for the office of [[Governor of California|California Governor]]. Although he later admitted that he had no interest in being a candidate himself for public office,{{sfn|Fishgall|2002|p=14}} Peck encouraged one of his sons, Carey Peck, to run for political office. He was defeated both times by slim margins in races in 1978 and 1980 against Republican U.S. Representative [[Bob Dornan]], another former actor.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ehrenhalt |first=Alan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7vdZAAAAYAAJ&q=%22gregory+peck%22+%22Bob+Dornan%22 |title=Politics in America: The 100th Congress |date=1987 |publisher=CQ Press |isbn=978-0-87187-430-6 |pages=205 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kcLxAAAAMAAJ&q=%22carey+peck%22+%22bob+dornan%22 |title=The Review of the News |date=1980 |publisher=Correction, Please |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Actor Gregory Peck with Deputy Mayor Henry Scagnoli (12191659574).jpg|thumb|Peck with Deputy [[Mayor of Boston]] [[Henry Scagnoli]] c. 1968]]
Peck revealed that former President [[Lyndon Johnson]] had told him that, had he sought re-election in 1968, he intended to offer Peck the post of U.S. ambassador to Ireland – a post Peck, owing to his Irish ancestry, said he might well have taken, saying, "[It] would have been a great adventure".<ref>Haggerty, Bridget. [http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/AMisc/GregoryPeck.html "Gregory Peck's Irish Connections"]. IrishCultureAndCustoms.com</ref> The actor's biographer [[Michael Freedland]] substantiates the report, and says that Johnson indicated that his presentation of the Medal of Freedom to Peck would perhaps make up for his inability to confer the ambassadorship.{{sfn|Freedland|1980|p=197}} President [[Richard Nixon]] placed Peck on his "[[Master list of Nixon political opponents|enemies list]]", owing to Peck's liberal activism.<ref>Corliss, Richard. [https://archive.today/20120919124736/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,458777,00.html "The American as Noble Man"]. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. June 16, 2003</ref>

Peck was outspoken against the [[Vietnam War]], while remaining supportive of his son, Stephen, who fought there as a Marine officer forward observer.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://straighttalktv.com/bios/stephen-peck-2015.html | title=Bio &#124; Stephen Peck }}</ref> In 1972, Peck produced the film version of [[Daniel Berrigan]]'s play ''The Trial of the [[Catonsville Nine]]'' about the prosecution of a group of Vietnam protesters for civil disobedience. Despite his reservations about American general [[Douglas MacArthur]] as a man, Peck had long wanted to play him on film, and did so in ''[[MacArthur (1977 film)|MacArthur]]'' in 1976.{{sfn|Freedland|1980|pp=231–241}} Peck was a close friend of French president [[Jacques Chirac]].<ref name="Elysée">{{citation|url=http://elysee.fr/elysee/fevrier/salle_de_presse/communiques_de_la_presidence/2003/juin/communique_de_m_jacques_chirac_president_de_la_republique_a_la_suite_de_la_disparition_de_gregory_peck.745.html|type=communiqué de la Présidence|publisher=Champs-Élysées|language=fr|date=June 2003|title=Communiqué de M Jacques Chirac, président de la république, à la suite de la disparition de Gregory Peck|trans-title=Communication from Jacques Chirac, President of the Republic, concerning the death of Gregory Peck|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205110749/http://elysee.fr/elysee/fevrier/salle_de_presse/communiques_de_la_presidence/2003/juin/communique_de_m_jacques_chirac_president_de_la_republique_a_la_suite_de_la_disparition_de_gregory_peck.745.html|archive-date=February 5, 2007}}</ref>

In 1978, Peck traveled to [[Alabama]], the setting of ''To Kill a Mockingbird'', to campaign for Democratic [[U.S. Senate]] nominee [[Donald W. Stewart]] of [[Anniston, Alabama|Anniston]], who defeated the Republican candidate, [[James D. Martin]], a former U.S. representative from [[Gadsden, Alabama|Gadsden]]. In 1987, Peck undertook the voice-overs for television commercials opposing President [[Ronald Reagan]]'s [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] nomination of judge [[Robert Bork]].<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/NpFe10lkF3Y Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20100513052315/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpFe10lkF3Y Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpFe10lkF3Y|title=1987 Robert Bork TV ad, narrated by Gregory Peck|date=July 16, 2008 |via=YouTube|access-date=June 20, 2010}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Bork's nomination was defeated. Peck was also a vocal supporter of a worldwide ban of [[nuclear weapons]], and a life-long advocate of [[gun control]].<ref>Srteve Profitt [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-nov-05-op-47269-story.html "Gregory Peck: A Leading Hollywood Liberal Still Can't Put Down a Good Book"], ''Los Angeles Times'', November 5, 2000</ref>{{sfn|Fishgall|2002|p=14|loc=Introduction}}

Documents declassified in 2017 show that the [[National Security Agency]] had created a biographical file on Peck as part of its monitoring of prominent US citizens.<ref>{{cite news |title=National Security Agency Tracking of U.S. Citizens – "Questionable Practices" from 1960s & 1970s |url=https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/cybervault-intelligence-nuclear-vault/2017-09-25/national-security-agency-tracking-us |access-date=January 3, 2020 |publisher=National Security Archive |date=September 25, 2017}}</ref>