Gregory Peck represents all we love to see on the screen and off the screen. I am honored to write a tribute to a man that was himself, his characters were as unique as he was. He would have been glad to give his autograph to anyone he passed, he would have said a few words to make their day. I don’t believe that he allowed the fame of being a film star to take over what it really meant to be a humanitarian, a father and family man and being himself. He put his heart and soul into everything he was and he wanted to be, he put his heart and soul into all he wanted to do. He thought outside of the box, never conforming to one idea. I believe most of all he wanted to be normal and when his talent as a film star kept him busy and moving he remained dedicated to his family, and life. We must never forget he was human and made mistakes just as anyone would. Most of all he handled his mistakes and life’s adventures the best way he knew how, accepting things the way they were and bettering himself. He was a prime example of how life is too serious and sometimes you have to have some fun or you’re never living life. Laugh at yourself and love yourself and others will love you just for that. Accepting yourself for who you are, accepting we are all going to age and times will change too!
Thank you Gregory for challenging us to be ourselves always, challenging us to do more if we can. Thank you for showing us how to love ourselves, how to age gracefully, how to speak and become respected, that we don’t need to be ambassadors to be an ambassador to our neighbors and strangers. Taking the small steps and accepting failure because it will lead to something more successful, never losing hope when we doubt. Never allowing others to tell us what they believe because what we know goes far beyond what can be seen. Learning we don’t always need awards and accolades to prove what we already know, they don’t prove our real worth, a valuable lesson. Inspiring us to pursue the smallest of dreams. There is always a character in us that shines even when we can’t see it.
Most importantly Gregory we love that you took the time during your film career to attend social functions and spend time with your family, achieving a work and life balance. Life simply means different things to us all and if we have the chance we should do things we love while we learn to survive in an ever changing world, showing people that morals and values never go out of style, and never should manners. To me you certainly represent a father figure we would loved to have known, some would probably have said big brother, you’re both. Your films and characters are as intriguing as you are and your family was blessed to know you. We don’t find many actors these days to have the class and style you showed the world, maybe we will to learn to become the change we want to see. You’re a beautiful soul, never filtering who you were. Thank you for showing us we don’t need to be perfect because no one really is, and we all have flaws we don’t love, we must embrace all that we dislike and embrace even the things we love. Thank you for taking the chance to become a film star, and Hollywood for putting your talent to use, they couldnt have made a better choice. We love you through and through Gregory, you mean to more to us then you could ever know.