Gregory Peck on TV: How His Star Power Went Beyond the Big Screen

While Gregory Peck spent most of his 50-plus years in Hollywood doing feature films, the legendary "To Kill a Mockingbird" actor also played in a handful of TV movie and miniseries roles during the last two decades of his career.

He acted as an iconic U.S. president and had a supporting role in a small screen update of a movie he headlined nearly 40 years before.

Here's a look at the roles Gregory Peck played on TV.

1. "The Blue and the Gray" (1982)

Peck's first foray into television work came with the epic, eight-hour Civil War miniseries, which featured the actor as President Abraham Lincoln.

Vote Now: Who Is Your Favorite Actor of All Time?

The New York Times reviewer John J. O'Connor heartily approved of Peck's portrayal as the 16th U.S. president, but wanted to see more of him. "Lincoln, although splendidly portrayed by Mr. Peck, is little more than a cameo character," O'Connor wrote.

2. "The Scarlet and the Black" (1983)

Peck played the lead role of Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty in "The Scarlet and the Black," a World War II drama that aired as a TV movie on CBS. Starring opposite Peck in the movie was "The Sound of Music" star Christopher Plummer — who in a decidedly different turn away from Captain Von Trapp — played a Nazi lieutenant looking to halt O'Flaherty’s underground operation in Rome, hiding allied prisoners of war from the Germans.

The Movie Scene praised Peck and Plummer in the film as well as their co-star John Gielgud: "Gregory Peck, Christopher Plummer, and John Gielgud all deliver first-rate war movie performances with Gielgud looking particularly right as the Pope."

3. "Moby Dick" (1998)

Peck played Father Mapple in the TV miniseries based on Herman Melville's classic sea adventure. The actor starred in the lead role of Captain Ahab in the 1956 feature film version of "Moby Dick," but "Star Trek: The Next Generation" star Patrick Stewart took the helm as the obsessed whale hunter for the 180-minute, three-episode television event.

Variety called Peck's performance as Mapple "duly impressive."

The role was notable for Peck because it brought him his first and only Prime-Time Emmy Award nomination (for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture). It also turned out to be his last role on camera before his death in 2003 at age 87.

Vote Now: Which of These Actors Stands the Test of Time?

Related Stories:

• The 5 Roles That Defined Gregory Peck's Career
• Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch: 5 Quotes About Iconic Role