Gregory Peck

Gregory Peck died on June 12, 2003 at age 87. He had a very lengthy and successful film career. One of his more famous roles and the one that this writer will never forget, was when he starred opposite Lee Remick in the 1976 cult horror classic “The Omen”, which spawned several sequels and eventually a remake. The chills in this film are indeed numerous. However, perhaps the best scene is near the film’s end, when Peck’s character, Ambassador Thorne, has his child on the altar of a church and is about to kill him with sacred daggers. Ambassador Thorne had finally become convinced that his son was indeed the anti-Christ and was responsible for numerous deaths, including that of his wife, played by the ever lovely Lee Remick. He felt complelled to kill his son, Damien, so the world would be spared from the anti-Christ. Just when he is about to slay him, the cops break into the church and shoot the ambassador. At the final funeral scene, the young actor that played Damien Thorne turns around and gives an eerie smile.

Gregory Peck also starred in the best Western film that this writer has ever seen, MacKenna’s Gold. The film was shot in Southern Utah and involves a lengthy search for a lost canyon that is loaded with gold.