Editing Gregory Peck (section)

===1939–1943: Beginnings and stage roles===
Peck did not graduate with his friends because he lacked one course. His college friends were concerned for him and wondered how he would get along without his degree. "I have all I need from the university", he told them. Peck dropped the name "Eldred" and headed to New York City to study at the [[Neighborhood Playhouse]] with the legendary acting teacher [[Sanford Meisner]]. He was often broke and sometimes slept in [[Central Park]].{{sfn|Freedland|1980|p=35}} He worked at the 1939 [[World's Fair]] as a [[barker (occupation)|barker]], at [[Rockefeller Center]] as a tour guide for [[NBC]] television, and at [[Radio City Music Hall]].<ref name="Monush, Barry"/> Before 1940, he dabbled in modelling, and worked in exchange for food at the [[Barter Theatre]] in [[Abingdon, Virginia]], where he appeared in five plays, including ''Family Portrait'' and ''On Earth As It Is''.<ref name="autogenerated1998">"Gregory Peck Returns to Theatre Roots in Virginia Mountains", ''Playbill'', June 29, 1998</ref>

His stage career began in 1941, when he played the secretary in a [[Katharine Cornell]] production of [[George Bernard Shaw]]'s play ''[[The Doctor's Dilemma (play)|The Doctor's Dilemma]]''. The play opened in San Francisco just one week before the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]].<ref>Tad Mosel, ''Leading Lady: The World and Theatre of Katharine Cornell'', Boston: Little, Brown & Co. 1978{{page needed|date=June 2013}}</ref> He made his [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] debut as the lead in [[Emlyn Williams]]' ''[[The Morning Star (play)|The Morning Star]]'' in 1942.<ref name="Monush, Barry"/> His second Broadway performance that year was in ''The Willow and I'' with [[Edward Pawley]]. Peck's acting abilities were in high demand during [[World War II]] since he had been exempted from military service because of a back injury suffered while receiving dance and movement lessons from [[Martha Graham]] as part of his acting training.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/1188/the-valley-of-decision#articles-reviews|title=The Valley of Decision (1945) |website=[[Turner Classic Movies]]}}</ref> [[Twentieth Century Fox]] later claimed he had injured his back while rowing at university, but in Peck's words, "In Hollywood, they didn't think a dance class was macho enough, I guess. I've been trying to straighten out that story for years."<ref name="sdut">Welton Jones. [http://www.jefflangonline.com/peck/bio/index.htm "Gregory Peck"], ''[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]]'', April 5, 1998.</ref> Peck performed in a total of 50 plays, including three short-lived Broadway productions, 4–5 road tours, and summer theater.<ref name="theactorswork.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theactorswork.com/2013/04/films-and-filming-gregory-peck.html|title=Vintage Magazine: Gregory Peck interview + Badlands}}</ref>