Veronique Peck, the widow of legendary actor Gregory Peck and a long-time active figure in the cultural life of Los Angeles, died Friday, August 17 at her home in Los Angeles
Veronique Peck, the widow of legendary actor Gregory Peck and a long-time active figure in the cultural life of Los Angeles, died Friday, August 17 at her home in Los Angeles. She was 80.
The cause was heart failure, said her children, Anthony Peck and Cecilia Peck Voll.
She and Gregory Peck were married for nearly 50 years, until his death in 2003.
Witty, intellectual, and a sparkling conversationalist known for hosting lively soirees in her Holmby Hills home, Veronique Passani Peck was born in Paris, the daughter of architect Antoine Passani, and Russian artist Alexandra Passani.
She was educated at Marymount, and later became a reporter for the leading French daily, France Soir. She interviewed leaders in the arts and politics, from Colette to General Dwight Eisenhower, Samuel Goldwyn, and on a life changing occasion, Gregory Peck.
The story of their love affair could have come from the movies. After their interview, Peck went to Italy to film “Roman Holiday,” and months later upon his return to Paris, called the newspaper to track down the beautiful young journalist. As he told it, he heard the loudspeaker announce “Veronique Passani, c’est Monsieur Gregory Peck au telephone,” and the busy newsroom went silent. When she reached the phone he reminded her of their meeting and invited her to lunch that day. She hesitated, so he asked if she had a boyfriend. She said she didn’t, but still wouldn’t agree to lunch. He persisted, and their lunch at a Left Bank restaurant marked the beginning of a love story that lasted for over fifty years. Much later, she told him why it had taken her so long to say yes. “I wasn’t going to tell you this,” she confessed, “but I had an interview that day with Dr. Albert Schweitzer. At the apartment of Jean-Paul Sartre.” Gregory famously replied, “Well, you made the right choice, kiddo.”
Veronique moved to the United States with Gregory at age 23 and began her life at her husband’s side, actively supporting and sharing in many of his film industry and personal interests. During his Chairmanship of the American Cancer Society in 1966, they toured 26 cities and together raised over $50 million for cancer research. She helped to create and was principal fundraiser for the Inner City Cultural Center, an interracial theatre group in South Central Los Angeles. She was voted Woman of the Year by the Los Angeles Times in recognition of her work as a Founder of the Los Angeles Music Center. In 1976, Veronique Peck became an American citizen, one of her proudest moments. She never lost her French elegance, charm or the trace of a French accent, but as she put it, “I am French by birth, American by choice.”
Gregory and Veronique were known to have one of Hollywood’s most loving and enduring marriages. They rarely left each others’ side, and on film locations she would run lines with him and create the ambience of home in hotels or rental houses around the world. He called her his soul mate. When producer Alan Pakula made the auspicious call to offer Gregory the role of Atticus Finch in a then unknown Southern writer’s first book, Gregory asked him to please send over two galley copies so that he and Veronique could read it at the same time. They never ran out of things to talk about, or to see and do together. They loved travelling, especially to Paris,and were frequent guests at the Elysee Palace during the presidency of their friend, Jacques Chirac. At home in Los Angeles, they often gathered friends around the dinner table in the beautiful home they had created together, as Veronique continued to do after Gregory’s passing in 2003.
At that time, Veronique took over producing the Gregory Peck Reading Series, which raises funds for the Los Angeles Public Library by bringing celebrated actors to read in the Central Library. One of the cultural jewels of Los Angeles, the prestigious Series has welcomed actors from Morgan Freeman to Vanessa Redgrave, Kevin Spacey, Laura Dern, Sharon Stone, Robert Forster, Angelica Huston, Dick Van Dyke, Sally Field, Mark Ruffalo, lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman, and many more. In 2009, Veronique was honored with the Light of Learning Award from the Los Angeles Library Foundation
She helped produce the memorable ceremony in 2011 celebrating the unveiling of Gregory’s USPS “Forever” postage stamp as Atticus Finch, at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. In April of 2012, she travelled to Washington for President Obama’s private White House screening marking the 50th anniversary of “To Kill A Mockingbird.”
Veronique is survived by her two children, writer/producer Anthony Peck, and documentary filmmaker Cecilia Peck Voll, by her brother Dr. Cornelius Passani, and her three grandchildren, Zack Peck (20,) Harper Peck-Voll (13,) and Ondine Peck-Voll (10).
The Peck family is planning a private service at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles, where she will be laid to rest next to her husband Gregory. Donations in her memory may be made to the Los Angeles Library Foundation.
Hollywood Says Goodbye: Notable Celebrity Deaths of 2012
The show went on after Whitney Houston was found dead in a hotel bathtub on the eve of the Grammy Awards in February, but it wasn't the same. A huge talent with unique power and range, Houston one of the most successful pop singers in modern music history. She was the most honored female singer of all time, winning six Grammy Awards in her career, two Emmys and 22 American Music Awards.
Nora Ephron, the screenwriter behind "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail," died in June of pneumonia at 71. Tom Hanks, who starred in those two films, will make his Broadway debut in March, starring as tough-guy columnist Mike McAlary in one of Ephron's final works, "The Lucky Guy."
Character actor Charles Durning, appeared in "Tootsie,” "Dog Day Afternoon” and “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” The latter earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, a feat he duplicated a year later in “To Be or Not to Be.” He won a Tony for his role as Big Daddy in a 1989 revival of "Cat on Hot Tin Roof," and he was awarded the Screen Actors Guild's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.
Brit Tony Scott, director of a string of high-octane blockbusters including "Top Gun," stunned the industry in August when he committed suicide by jumping off a bridge. The brother of fellow director Ridley Scott, Tony was 68.
Larry Hagman, who starred as corrupt oil baron J.R. Ewing in the long-running TV series "Dallas," years after playing astronaut Tony Nelson on "I Dream of Jeannie," died of complications from throat cancer in November at 81. The original "Dallas" ran from 1979-1991, giving rise to "Who Shot J.R.? mania.
Andy Williams, known for his renditions of "Moon River," "Where Do I Begin?" and "Butterfly," died in September at 84 after battling cancer. His gentle croon, bright eyes and flashing teeth helped him play for audiences from Hollywood to Branson, Mo. No one ever accused him of being edgy, but they couldn't argue that he was smooth.
Michael Clarke Duncan was best known for his Oscar-nominated breakout role as gifted prison inmate John Coffey in 1999's “The Green Mile.” Duncan, whose films included blockbusters like "Armageddon," "Planet of the Apes" and "Kung Fu Panda," died Sept. 3 at age 54 while being hospitalized following a heart attack in July.
Donna Summer's soaring mezzo-soprano voice and catchy lyrics provided the soundtrack to the 1970s, making it nearly impossible to think of many of that decade's cultural touchstones, be they bell-bottoms or disco balls, without calling to mind her hit singles like "Hot Stuff" and "Last Dance." She died of lung cancer in May at the age of 63.
Independent film executive Bingham Ray suffered a stroke while at the Sundance Film Festival in January and died at 57. At his memorial, he was remembered for the shorts he wore (at frigid Sundance, at fancy Cannes), the opinions he held, the stories he told, his devotion to the Grateful Dead, his love for his family, and most especially his passion for movies.
Phyllis Diller, whose comic trademarks included her wild hair, big laugh and jokes about her age, helped pave the way for today's outlandish comediennes. She went on several tours to entertain the troops with Bob Hope. She died in August at 95.
Film critic Andrew Sarris, who is largely credited for introducing American moviegoers to European new wave cinema. His works greatly heightened awareness of the role of the film director and a 1962 essay "Notes on the Auteur Theory," brought the term "auteur" into the American vernacular. He died in June from a stomach virus at 83.
The Monkees may have been created as a Beatles knockoff, but front man Davy Jones wore the mantle of teen idol effortlessly. He never seemed less than pleased to be there, whether as the king of network TV and the singles charts ("I'm a Believer," "Last Train to Clarksville") in the ‘60s, or on "The Brady Bunch" as the object of Marcia's infatuation. He died of a heart attack in March at 66.
Marty Richards, the producer behind the Broadway productions of "Sweeney Todd" and "La Cage aux Folles," as well as the 2002 big-screen adaptation of "Chicago," died of cancer in November at 80.
Ray Bradbury, author of “The Martian Chronicles” and “Fahrenheit 451,” died in June at the age of 91 after a long illness. "He was my muse for the better part of my sci-fi career," Steven Spielberg said upon Bradbury's death. "He lives on through his legion of fans. In the world of science fiction and fantasy and imagination he is immortal."
With his brothers Robin and Maurice, he founded the pop group the Bee Gees, whose soundtrack to the 1977 film "Saturday Night Fever," helped propel disco music into a worldwide phenomenon. Among their hits were "I've Gotta Get A Message To You," "Lonely Days," "How Deep Is Your Love" and "Stayin' Alive." Gibb was 62 when he died in May of cancer of the colon and liver.
Don Grady, who played Robbie Douglas on the TV show "My Three Sons" and was one of the Mickey Mouse Club's original Mouseketeers, died of cancer in June at 68. He appeared in a number of TV series, including "The Ann Southern Show," "The Rifleman" and "The Lucy Show." He was signed to a contract by Capitol Records when he was 19 and became a composer following his TV career.
Ben Gazzara, an Emmy winner for the series "Run For Your Life," also starred in films and on Broadway in "Anatomy of a Murder" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." He joked that he was best known for his role as the bad guy in the campy 1989 Patrick Swayze film "Road House." He died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 81 in February.
Alex Karras was among the first pro sports stars to transition to movies and TV. The former NFL hero punched out a horse in the 1974 Mel Brooks film comedy “Blazing Saddles,” then went on to star in the ABC sitcom “Webster." He died of kidney failure at 77 in October.
TV star Jack Klugman was beloved for playing the sloppy, working-guy half of “The Odd Couple” and the crime-solving coroner in “Quincy M.E." He won two Emmys for his work on "The Odd Couple," and appeared in the classic film "Twelve Angry Men." He died at 90 in December after battling cancer.
George McGovern's bid for the White House ended in a landslide defeat to President Richard Nixon, but his opposition to the Vietnam War galvanized Hollywood and helped turn the entertainment industry into a major fundraising power for Democrats. He died in October at 90, after a series of illnesses that resulted from a fall.
Kitty Wells was country music's first female superstar. She began playing the guitar at 14, and was still touring until the year 2000. She's best remembered for the tunes "Making Believe" and "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels," the first No. 1 hit by a woman soloist in country music. She died in July at the age of 92 following a stroke.
Writer-director Frank Pierson won an Oscar for writing the 1975 film "Dog Day Afternoon." Pierson also wrote for the TV series "Have Gun, Will Travel" and "Route 66" and worked on features "Cool Hand Luke" and "Cat Ballou." Pierson twice served a
1 of 22
A number of familiar faces left us in 2012, from movies, TV and music — even the world's oldest teenager proved mortal
The show went on after Whitney Houston was found dead in a hotel bathtub on the eve of the Grammy Awards in February, but it wasn't the same. A huge talent with unique power and range, Houston one of the most successful pop singers in modern music history. She was the most honored female singer of all time, winning six Grammy Awards in her career, two Emmys and 22 American Music Awards.
Veronique moved to the United States with Gregory at age 23 and began her life at her husband’s side, actively supporting and sharing in many of his film industry and personal interests. During his Chairmanship of the American Cancer Society in 1966, they toured 26 cities and together raised over $50 million for cancer research. She helped to create and was principal fundraiser for the Inner City Cultural Center, an interracial theatre group in South Central Los Angeles. She was voted Woman of the Year by the Los Angeles Times in recognition of her work as a Founder of the Los Angeles Music Center. In 1976, Veronique Peck became an American citizen, one of her proudest moments. She never lost her French elegance, charm or the trace of a French accent, but as she put it, “I am French by birth, American by choice.”
She helped produce the memorable ceremony in 2011 celebrating the unveiling of Gregory’s USPS “Forever” postage stamp as Atticus Finch, at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. In April of 2012, she travelled to Washington for President Obama’s private White House screening marking the 50th anniversary of “To Kill A Mockingbird.”
