The American Spectator

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The denigrating comments Ben Stein made about Gregory Peck struck me as so incorrect that I had to write. Gregory Peck was my father, and Mr. Stein does not know what he is talking about.

Specifically, my father not only played a fighter for the cause of civil rights in To Kill A Mockingbird, but he fought the good fight throughout his career. I may have to refresh Mr. Stein's memory as to my father's civic achievements. Does Mr. Stein forget Gentleman's Agreement? That was a daring call at the time. Beyond his well documented political activism for civil rights and liberal candidates, dad worked for civic organizations such as the Inner City Theater in Los Angeles, and for civil rights issues and for the arts on the national level as well. He turned down roles at the peak of his career so that he could concentrate on public charities, and campaigns. He was a founding Board member of the National Endowment for the Arts, and a founder of the American Film Institute. I will not list more causes. His family noted with pride, though, that they were generously cited in his many warm and overwhelmingly admiring obituaries.

The point of the article to which I object was Mr. Stein's cheap shot about shallow actors. Perhaps if he did some research then his memory might be corrected in regards to one great American artist.

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