As Gregory Peck died this year it was timely that the AFI organised a tribute to his life's work back in 1989.I was lucky to receive a VHS copy of this tv show from the creator of the Jennifer Jones tribute web site, otherwise I never would have been able to see it since we in the UK do not get to see all U.S. shows on our networks.
My motive of course was to see Jennifer Jones not acting and hear her speech since I am an avid collector of hers and have VHS/DVDs of all her films together with her biographies, many magazines & photos etc.She appeared with Peck in "Duel in the Sun"(1946) as Pearl Chavez opposite his anti-hero, Lewt McCanless.The couple were paired again in "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" (1956) directed by Nunnelly, Johnson where she played an ambitous wife of Peck who played a man keen to better his job but is haunted by his ghosts from WWII.
There is the usual collection of trite eulogies you have to expect on occasions like this for example Jennifer stated that "..making love to Gregory was not the hardest job in the world!!".Other memorable tributes flowed from Lisa Minelli and Lauren Bacall.It seems he originally got into acting almost by default as he was approached to act when still a young medical student in California.My view after seeing him in most of his well known roles is he was good at playing the straight heroic roles, e.g. "The Guns of Naverone"(1961) but had limitations in portraying more sensitive, complex characters.For example in "12 O'clock High"(1949) I do not "buy" his later mental breakdown as the air-exec. at the Archbury U.S.A.F. WWII bomber base in England set in 1942, since he had previously shown such a strong character in this otherwise excellent film.
If you want to learn the truth about subjects of tv tributes (e.g.published troubles in their private & professional lives), it is better to read their biographies or interviews with reputable journalists.
