#Alfred William Finch

[lionofchaeronea]

Night View of a Factory, Alfred William Finch, 1910s

[random-brushstrokes]

Alfred William Finch - Portrait of Artist Magnus Enckell (1915)

[fuckstoevsky]

Late Night Talking - Harry Styles // Concussion - Girlhouse // The Hair - Henri-Edmond Cross // Woman in Profile - Alfred William Finch // Mine // Kevin's Heart - J. Cole // Couple in the street - Charles Angrand

[portraits-of-iris]

Landscape with Rainbow

Alfred William Finch

1916

[oldsardens]

Alfred William Finch - Pine Trees on the Beach

[jerseyluck]

Batman (2016) Vol.3 Annual #1 Readthrough

Tis be the season, and in the spirit of that we are going to look into some holiday comics. And we are going to start with Batman Annual #1, a Christmas anthology.

The book opens with the most famous tale of the book: Tom King and David Finch’s Eisner winning Good Boy.

The story opens with an example of the damage that the Joker does on a daily basis. In this case, Joker left a bunch of dogs behind to go feral, and only one has survived: a hound in an Ace mask.

We then cut to best butler, Alfred Pennyworth, going to the dog pound to adopt the surviving dog. The book then cuts to an amusing scene where Bruce is ambushed by the aggressive dog and is mildly annoyed. Bruce doesn’t seem to think that the dog can recover from the trauma that Joker put him under.

But Alfred isn’t one to give up! Before the Christmas season, the butler spends time trying to train the dog. And slowly but surely the dog starts to behave and is willing to trust.

In a heartwarming moment, Ace comes towards Batman after a rough night out. By Christmas, it has gotten to the point where Bruce is giving the dog a bat mask. And in a hilarious moment, Bruce asks Alfred what his Christmas present is not realizing Ace is the present.

This is easily one of the best stories Tom King ever wrote and is the best story in the annual. David Finch does some decent art that makes the story work. However, there is some better art in this annual.

And one of the stories with better art is Silent Night by Scott Snyder and Ray Fawkes with art by Delcan Shalvey.

The story opens with an exploration of how Batman is able to respond to crimes so fast. Bats has tapped into Gotham’s 911 call centers, with a computer listening to key words. If there are enough context clues, Batman gets an alert to go to the call.

We cut to Gotham’s Time Square analogue where a group of people dressed in trench coats arrive. This being Gotham, citizens call it in, and Batman shows up thinking that this might be a terrorist attack.

But as a pleasant surprise, the group happens to be street performers to some fancy acrobatics. In a true Christmas miracle, Bruce actually gets a moment of peace because there isn’t any trouble in Gotham that requires Batman.

Next is The (Not So) Silent Night of Harley Quinn by Batman legends Paul Dini and Neal Adams. And it is just a riff on the classic tale where Batman carols with the police and no crime happens because of his influence on Gotham.

In this version, Batman captures Harley after she tries to sneak in Gordan’s holiday party. Bats drives Harley out of Gotham while Harley does some singing in the Batmobile. As this is happening, we get to see hijinks where things almost happen but through acts of little madness, everything turns out all right. My personal least favorite story from the bunch.

Next is Stag by Steve Orlando and Riley Rossmo. And this story is actually a lead into the pair’s then upcoming Batman/Spirit mini. Before we go any farther this has my artwork in the annual.

The story opens with Bruce, Commissioner Gordon, and new character Barry O’Neil opening a winter wonderland for Gotham. But then we get a Steve Orlando classic of using an obscure character, Mister Blizzard shows up to cause trouble because … he wants a new ice age?

Anyway, we get a good moment of Bruce leaving to get into his Batman gear. And very quickly, Batman takes Mister Blizzard. We then get a discussion from O’Neil, regretting that his attempt to bring joy to Gotham’s children went that badly.

The story ends with Bruce lamenting to Duke Thomas that O’Neil has been a charitable icon to Gotham since he was child. As Bruce wonders what Gotham would be without O’Neil, the old man is assassinated by a mysterious figure.

The annual ends with The Insecurity Diversion by Scott Bryan Williams and art by Bilquis Evely.

This story opens with Gotham under attack chemical anxiety-causing gas (ala Scarecrow’s fear toxin). We also got a new villainess, Haunter, at Arkham’s holiday party. And because this is a short story, both factors lead to Haunter escaping the asylum.

The book explains that Haunter has the power to kill people from their DNA, and she is pals with the Scarecrow. The fear-loving crook did Haunter a solid and let her escape.

However, Batman comes to stop the pair of villains. He exposes the villains to a nerve-toxin to capture the pair. And that is the end of this forgettable story.

Overall, this annual is a fun read. While there are some stories that are better than others, there isn’t a bad one in the bunch. Art throughout the book was spectacular.

7.5/10

[fatherson-showdown]

ok since the tournament may be delayed because of my final exams coming up and my search for images, here are the matchups for round 1 (using the dads' names because i cannot be fucked to write the entire thing again)

all upcoming round 1 polls will be tagged as #fatherson round 1

Mufasa vs Aslan Conrad Grayson vs John Reckless Brom (Inheritance Cycle) vs Jason Gideon Darth Vader vs Lord Garmadon Kohachi Inugami vs The Smoking Man (X-Files) Denver (La Casa del Papel) vs Dustfinger (Inkheart) Atticus Finch vs Phil Dunphy Anansi (Anansi Boys) vs Mr. Wednesday (American Gods) Alfred Pennyworth vs The Spy (TF2) Dr. Frankenstein vs Domingo Montoya Morland Holmes vs Link Darius Deamonne vs Hueso Bowser vs Dr. Eggman Tony DiNozzo Sr. vs Prince Robot IV Silas (Graveyard Book) vs Dunstan Thorn Baloo (Jungle Book) vs Pigsy (Monkie Kid)

John Parry vs Tachibana (Kamen Rider Blade) Bras' father (Daytripper) vs Henry Fisher Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights) vs Dad Egbert Benzo (Arcane) vs George and Lance (She-ra) Goofy vs Jake the Dog Kratos (God of War) vs Denethor (LotR) Aku Aku (Crash Bandicoot) vs Professor Kukui Son Goku vs Gregory Edgeworth Gomez Addams vs Asgore Dreemurr Lawrence Fletcher vs Greg Universe Arthur Pendragon vs Lucifer (Obey Me!) Marlin vs Gepetto Kumatetsu (The Boy and the Beast) vs Lord Death (Soul Eater) Lord Ozai vs William Afton Mr. Ping vs Stoick the Vast General Tilney vs Leto Atreides

[coffee-n-bagels-comic-universe]

Neutralised (1994) [3/?]: My Version of The Shared Universe

For those of you unfamiliar with 'Chicago Hope', it was actually set in a shared universe. Also, 'Suspiciously Similar' characters will be involved (Due to actors playing multiple roles). This is my take on that:

Shows:

Chicago Hope

Homicide: Life on the Street

Law & Order

Neutralised

Oz

Picket Fences

characters (I'm not listing anyone who was in 20 episodes or less) under the cut. Also technically these are not all the characters as I'm still writing stuff.

Chicago Hope - Characters (& Actors):

Doctor Aaron Shutt (Adam Arkin)

Doctor Phillip Watters (Hector Elizondo)

Doctor William 'Billy' Kronk (Peter Berg)

Doctor Dennis Hancock (Vlondie Curtis-Hall)

Doctor Diane Grad (Jayne Brook)

Doctor Keith Wilkes (Rocky Carroll)

Doctor Jack McNeil (Mark Harmon)

Doctor Daniel Nyland (Thomas Gibson)

Doctor Jeffrey Geiger (Mandy Patinkin)

Nurse Camille Shutt (Roxanne Hart)

Doctor Lisa Catera (Stacy Edwards)

Alan Birch (Peter MacNicol)

Doctor Joseph Cacaci (Bob Bancroft)

Doctor Robert Yeats (Eric Stoltz)

Doctor Gina Simon (Carla Gugino)

Doctor Jeremy Hanlon (Lauren Holly)

Doctor Francesca Alberghetti (Barbara Hershey)

Homicide: Life on the Street - Characters (& Actors)

Detective John Munch (Richard Belzer)

Detective Meldrick Lewis (Clark Johnson)

Lieutenant Alphonse Giardello (Yaphet Kotto)

Detective Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor)

Detective Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher)

Detective / Sergeant Kay Howard (Melissa Leo)

Detective Mike Kellerman (Reed Diamond)

Officer/Detective/Lieutenant Stuart Gharty (Peter Gerety)

Detective Paul Falsone (Jon Seda)

Lieutenant/Captain/Detective Megan Russert (Isabella Hofman)

Detective Laura Ballard (Callie Thorne)

Detective Terri Stivers (Toni Lewis)

Captain/Colonel George Barnfather (Clayton LeBouef)

ASA Ed Danvers (Željko Ivanek)

J.H.Brodie (Max Perlich)

Detective Beau Felton (Daniel Baldwin)

Detective Stanley Bolander (Ned Beatty)

Dr Julianna Cox (Michelle Forbes)

FBT Agent/Officer Mike Giardello (Giancario Esposito)

Detective Rene Sheppard (Michael Michele)

Dr. Alyssa Dyer (Harlee McBride)

Detective/Captain Roger Gaffney (Walt MacPherson)

Law & Order - Characters (& Actors)

Sergeant Maxwell Greevey (George Dzundza)

Junior Detective Michael Logan (Chris Noth)

Captain Donald Cragen (Dann Florek)

Exex ADA Benjamin Stone (Michael Moriarty)

ADA Paul Robinette (Richard Brooks)

DA Adam Schiff (Steven Hill)

Sergeant Philip Cerreta (Paul Sorvino)

Dr Elizabeth Olivet (Carolyn McCormic)

Senior Detective Leonard W Briscoe (Jerry Orbach)

Lieutenant Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson)

ADA Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennessy)

Exec ADA/DA John McCoy (Sam Waterston)

Junior Detective Reynaldo Curtis (Benjamin Bratt)

ADA Jamie Ross (Carey Lowell)

ADA Abigail Carmichael (Angie Harmon)

Junior/Senior Detective Edward Green (Jesse L. Martin)

Interim DA Nora Lewin (Dianne Wiest)

ADA Serena Southerlyn (Elisabeth Röhm)

DA Arthur Branch (Fred Thompson)

Neutralised - Characters (& Actors)

Abraham Machado (Alfred Molina)

Andreina Neri (Robin Wright)

Caleb Willow (Cary Elwes)

Dove Lewis (Alfre Woodard)

Esmé Verity (Janaeane Garofalo)

Faustus Sanchez (Hank Azaria)

Grayson Bryant (Harold Perrineau)

Hunter Kingsley (Chris Farley)

Ichabod Mortimer (Danny DeVito)

Jared Foster (Kirk Acevedo)

Kane Carter (Philip Seymour Hoffman)

Lance Carter (John Goodman)

Monday Duke (Patricia Arquette)

Noam Gold (Oliver Platt)

Omega Finch (Willem Dafoe)

Peyton Blythe (Regina King)

Russel Warszawski (Adam Sandler)

Sullivan Landon (Christopher Lloyd)

Tuesday Duke (Reese Witherspoon)

Victor Jamison (Mike Myers)

Winslow Warszawski (Brad Garrett)

Xavier Solomon (David Spade)

Yancy Haggard (Kiefer Sutherland)

Zoey Knight (Geena Davis)

OZ - Characters (& Actors)

Augustus Hill (Harold Perrineau)

Tobias Beecher (Lee Tergesen)

Ryan O'Reily (Dean Winters)

Kareem Saïd / Goodson Truman (Eamonn Walker)

Miguel Alvarez (Kirk Acevedo)

Vernon Schillinger (J.K. Simmons)

Simon Adebisi (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje)

Christopher Keller (Christopher Meloni)

Zahir Arif (Granville Adams)

Hamid Khan (Ernie Hudson Jr.)

Nacim Bismilla (Re Hanna)

Huseni Mershah / James Monroe Madison (Roger Guenvuer Smith)

Leroy Tidd / Salah Udeen (Jacues Smith)

Jefferson Keane (Leon)

Kenny Wangler (J.D. Williams)

Arnold 'Poet' Jackson (muMs the Schemer)

Paul Markstrom (O.L. Duke)

Junior Pierce (Malé-Lexington Alexander)

Malcolm 'Snake' Coyle (Treach)

Johnny Post (Tim McAdams)

James Robson (R.E. Rodgers)

Mark Mack (Leif Riddell)

Jaz Hoyt (Evan Seinfeld)

Scott Ross (Stephen Gevedon)

Andrew Schillinger (Frederick Koehler)

Nino Schibetta (Tony Schibetta)

Peter Schibetta (Eddie Malavarca)

Antonio Nappa (Mark Margolis)

Chucky Pancamo (Chuck Zito)

Dino Ortolani (Jon Seda)

Don Zanghi (John Palumbo)

Joey D'Angelo (Goodfella Mike G)

Mario Seggio (Todd Etelson)

Salvatore DeSanto (Phil Campanella)

Raoul 'El Cid' Hernandez (Luis Guzman)

Carmen 'Chico' Guerra (Otto Sanchez)

Carlos Martinez (Carlos Leon)

Carlo Ricardo (Juan Carlos Hernandez)

Cyril O'Reily (Scott William Winters)

Rev. Jeremiah Cloutier (Luke Perry)

Timmy Kirk (Sean Dugan)

Alonzo Torquemada (Bobby Cannavale)

Richie Hanlon (Jordan Lage)

Shirley Bellinger (Kathryn Erbe)

Bob Rebadow (George Morfogen)

Agamemnin Busmalis (Tom Mardirosian)

Donald Groves (Sean Whitesell)

Jackson Vahue (Rick Fox)

Desmond Mobay / John Basil (Lance Reddick)

Richard L'Italien (Eric Roberts)

Nikolai Stanislofsky (Phillip Casnoff)

William Giles (Austin Pendleton)

Henry Stanton (Thomas G. Waites)

Colonel Edward Galson (John Doman)

Eli Zabitz (David Johansen)

Kipekemie Jara (Zakes Mokae)

Dean Alvah Case (Charles S. Dutton)

Sean Murphy (Robert Clohessy)

Claire Howell (Kristin Rohde)

Diane Wittlesey (Edie Falco)

Clayton Hughes (Seth Gilliam)

Karl Metzger (Bill Fagerbakke)

Eddie Hunt (Murphy Guyer)

Lenny Burrano (Skipp Sudduth)

Father Ray Mukada (B.D Wong)

Doctor Gloria Nathan (Lauren Veldez)

Governor James Devlin (Željko Ivanek)

Martin Querns (Reg E. Cathey)

Doctor Frederick Garvey (Milo O'Shea)

Warden Leo Glynn (Ernie Hudson)

Tim McManus (Terry Kinney)

Sister Peter Marie Reimondo (Rita Moreno)

Picket Fences - Characters (& Actors)

Sheriff James 'Jimmy' Brock (Tom Skerritt)

Doctor Jill Brock (Kathy Baker)

Kimberly Brock (Holly Marie Combs)

Matthew Brock (Justin Shenkarow)

Zachary 'Zach' Brock (Adam Wylie)

Deputy Kenny Lacos (Costas Mandylor)

Deputy Maxine 'Max' Stewart (Lauren Holly)

Carter Pike (Kelly Connell)

Ginny Weedon (Zelda Rubinstein)

Douglas Wambaugh (Fyvush Finkel)

Judge Henry Bone (Ray Walston)

DA John Littleton (Don Cheadle)

DA Barnaby Wood (Peter Frechette)

ADA Petrovic (Jason Beghe)

Father Gary Barrett (Roy Dotrice)

Laurie Bey (Marlee Matlin)

Howard Buss (Robert Cornthwaite)

Doctor Joanna 'Joey' Diamond (Amy Aquino)

Lisa Fenn (Alexandra Lee)

Frank (David Proval)

Rachel Harris (Leigh Taylor-Young)

Ed Lawson (Richard Masur)

Peter Lebeck (Michael Jeter)

Milton Lebeck (Chris Owen)

Reverend Henry Novotny (Dabbs Greer)

Principal Michael Oslo (Roy Brocksmith)

Cynthia Parks (Elisabeth Moss)

Bill Pugen (Michael Keenan)

Lydia Brock (Cristine Rose)

Aiesha Campbell (Bruklin Harris)

Brian Latham (Gregory Vignolle)

Agent Donald Morrell (Sam Anderson)

[charmingghosts]

Alfred William Finch, Haystacks (1889)

[celluloidandthecity]

On Roman Polanski's Macbeth (1971)

A box office bomb on its release, Roman Polanski's 1971 adaptation of William Shakespeare's classic tragedy Macbeth has deservedly undergone a reappraisal in recent years.

It was equally cursed and blessed by the benevolence of Hugh Hefner's Playboy Productions, who funded the movie when Paramount, Universal and MGM passed. Without the funding, the film wouldn't have been made. With it, much bad press was focused on the film's 'nudity and graphic violence', seemingly influenced by the perceived proclivities of Hefner himself.

The production was beset by production issues, with the British weather, and even more so by the petulance of its director. Polanski at this point in his career was highly marketable, with the successes of Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby under his belt. Which in no way helped mitigate his highly demanding behaviour on set. At one point financiers insisted that he be fired, not least because the film was over-budget, requiring both Polanski and Hefner to top up the pot and get the thing completed.

In my own personal opinion, I'm glad that the film has enjoyed a critical appraisal. Because I think it is a minor masterpiece. The casting - with Jon Finch and Francesca Annis playing against the historical norm as a younger and beautiful couple - is inspired. It feels new, yet acutely traditional. It's wonderful to look at. And the set pieces - far from being gratuitously violent - are appropriate.

Critics have made a lot of Macbeth being the first film Polanski directed after the brutal murder of his wife Sharon Tate in 1969. And it is definitely worth giving a thought to how his first-hand experience of this brutality fed into his depiction of Duncan's murder. It remains, to me, an important film and one unfairly diminished in the canon of adaptations of the works of William Shakespeare.

After the commercial failure of Macbeth, Polanski rose to the top again with the classic Chinatown (1974). In 1977 his career suffered a dramatic blow when he was arrested and charged with drugging and raping a 13 year old girl. He fled to Paris and remains a fugitive from the American justice system. Which has in no way affected his ability to direct critically acclaimed films such as Tess (1979) and The Pianist (2022). Considered as problematic by some as shamed director Woody Allen, actions in his private life continue to dominate the minds of many, to the detriment of his creative output.

Along with Francesca Annis, Jon Finch's youth and beauty (he was 29, she was 26 at the time of filming), shook up how the doomed Macbeth and his wife were depicted for a generation. The exceedingly private actor - the son of a merchant banker from Sussex - was in the right place at the right time, meeting Roman Polanski on a plane when the director was in the process of casting the movie.

Finch had played in amateur stage productions, television and in two Hammer horror movies, but Macbeth was his breakout role. Though a great career beckoned Finch's wasn't a life of much ambition, with the actor himself stating that he made a film a year to enable himself to live comfortably. He worked with Alfred Hitchcock on Frenzy (1972) but had to resign from Alien (he was originally cast in John Hurt's role) due to illness and turned down the role of James Bond, which later went to Roger Moore. He married actress Catriona MacColl in the 1980s, but they later divorced after five years of marriage, Finch later had a daughter from another relationship. His final film role was the Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem in Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven (2005). Jon Finch passed away in 2012.

An actress from her teens, Annis raised eyebrows with her 'naked sleepwalking' scene in Macbeth. She went from strength to strength after working with Polanski, with a stellar range of roles encompassing stage, film and television.

It would be great to know whether there are outtakes or other behind the scenes footage of Macbeth and this could be released along with a director's cut. I'd watch the hell out of it all.

[tracidant]

I'm a bit behind, story of my life, but here's my Day1 of MerMay story for the prompt "Self-portrait."

📢 Warning - there is mention of animal death, but not any of Damian's. Just a mention, nothing graphic.

Note - Damian's dog Titus was named after Titus Andronicus, a Roman war general featured in the play of the same name by William Shakespeare. He first appeared in Batman and Robin #2.

🧜‍♂️ MerMay Day 1 - Self - Portrait

Damian was sitting on the edge of the duck pond, shirt off, green and gold tail swishing idly, only the tip actually in the water. It was a gorgeous day to be outside, and he had brought his sketchpad. He was trying to draw all of the bird species he'd found on the estate and was hoping to catch a glimpse of the pair of House Finches he'd recently seen.

He was sitting quietly listening to the sounds, how he usually found his avian subjects, when he looked down. His reflection was disturbed by the gentle breeze across the water. It was how he felt about life right now. Both halves distorted.

Before he even realized it, his subject went from birds to himself. He'd drawn self-portraits before, but they were always the kind that could be hung and displayed in the Manor - him in a suit looking dour, and completely human. Father's friends would "ooh" and "aah" and comment on his talent, but all he'd done was a copy the image that he saw in the mirror. It wasn't art.

But this? This was something totally different.

When finished, it was hard to look at. The image was jarring to the eyes, but it was also jarring to the soul. Anyone who had ever felt torn between two worlds could see and feel it.

He wasn't sure about turning it in. His art teacher had always told him he needed to put more of himself in his work, and that's what he'd done here - bared his true self for all to see. But had he gone too far?

Not only did his teacher praise his work, and his openness, she insisted that he enter it into the county art competition. He'd entered pieces before, a watercolor of Alfred the Cat and a gorgeous charcoal of Wayne Manor, but he'd never gotten higher than third. "High degree of skill, no passion" he was told.

Well this was really putting himself out there. It wasn't a secret that he was half-Mer, but he'd kept that part as hidden as he could since he'd been in Gotham. This would certainly remind everyone.

So he entered his self portrait, more for himself than for any possibility of a prize. On the day of the exhibition, he listened from behind a curtain as people commented on it.

"...so daring..."

"...shows a fragility, but the openness gives it such strength..."

"...my kids are half-Mer too. I can't wait for them to see this..."

He easily won first place.

But for the first time, that didn't matter. Something about seeing himself so truly himself out in the open, awakened something in him.

"It's peace," Jon told him.

"Sorry, Kent, but this is the exact opposite of that. I feel alive. Vibrant even."

"Because you're at peace with yourself. Half alien here, so believe me when I say I understand."

Damian thought about it for a bit. "I think you may actually be right."

When the state competition came around, Damian changed the title of his work from the dry "Self Portrait" to "Peace." He came in second, but wasn't upset. He'd gotten so much more than just a ribbon after all.

He'd found himself.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Epilog

The winner of the state art competition for his age group was a girl from Leonardo. She had done a breath-taking and heart-breaking watercolor of her and her dog Nick as he was being put to sleep. You could see the love they had for each other, and no one who saw it came away with dry eyes. Damian went to congratulate her and, of course, ask about her dog.

"He looks majestic, even in death. You must have loved him very much. Well-deserved win. I'm Damian."

She laughed. "I know who you are. Pretty sure everyone in New Jersey does. Your piece was pretty amazing too. I'm Nika."

"Is that where your dog's name came from? Nick and Nika?"

She laughed again, and Damian realized he really liked that sound for some reason. "Jeez you're gonna think I'm such a weirdo."

"I'm a half-Mer billionaire who was raised in the Himalayas and owns a cow. Weird is normal for me."

"His full name is Andronicus. It's crazy, I know. It's from a Shakespeare play called Titus Andronicus."

Now it was Damian's turn to laugh. He pulled out his phone. "Let me show you my dog. You'll never guess what his name is."

[bbynames]

cottagecore names

iris, ivy, fawn, maisie, opal, marie, dorothy, alice, frances, florence, opal, augusta, story, mabel, poppy, mildred, ethel, ida, myrtle, thelma, nell, lucy, kitty, hyacinth, lavender, hattie, blanche, mamie, marjorie, della, fern, clover, willow, honey, mercy, effie, nancy, loretta, alberta, eunice, winnie, sylvie, louisa, adeline, sage, rosa, leona, lillie, agnes, irene, meadow, delilah, sunny, elinor, viola, hazel, edna, minnie, marion, pauline

autumn, storm, river, bear, jasper, herbert, alfred, lawrence, leslie, victor, rowan, linus, finch, aspen, ambrose, florent, huck, lupin, otis, wilde, sydney, vincent, chester, clyde, herman, eugene, elmer, earl, charles, linden, juniper, oak, ford, franklin, george, wilbur, roosevelt, william, luther, forest, march, fletcher, jack, brook, russell, lester, ira, lonnie, ronald, lane, valley, theo, sky, cedar, nicholas, philip, abraham, douglas, cornelius

[classicalmusicdaily]

Eldred Gregory Peck, better known by his stage name Gregory Peck, was a tall, imposing American actor best known for portraying characters of honesty and integrity. He was born on April 5, 1916 in La Jolla, California, and passed away on June 12, 2003 in Los Angeles, California. Gregory Peck Peck, the son of a pharmacist, went to military school and San Diego State College before enrolling at the University of California, Berkeley, to study medicine. After graduating, he moved to New York to pursue his interest in acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse while also supporting himself as a concession barker at the 1939 World's Fair and an usher at Radio City Music Hall. Although critics praised Peck's performances, his Broadway debut in The Morning Star (1942), the first of three straight flops in which he appeared, was a success. Peck made his debut as a Russian guerilla warrior in Days of Glory after being invited to Hollywood (1944). He was unable to serve in World War II due to a prior spinal injury. He was able to become one of the most well-liked leading men of the 1940s thanks to this circumstance. His portrayal of an idealistic missionary priest in The Keys of the Kingdom (1944) gave him his first Academy Award nomination. Three years later, in Gentleman's Agreement, he garnered a second Oscar nomination for his portrayal of a journalist who dresses as a Jew in order to expose anti-Semitism (1947). The Valley of Decision (1945), Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound (1945), Duel in the Sun (1946), The Yearling (1946), and Yellow Sky (1946) are some of Peck's other noteworthy motion pictures from this decade (1948). Peck collaborated with the majority of the top Hollywood filmmakers of the day, including Lewis Milestone, Vincente Minnelli, William Wellman, King Vidor, and Hitchcock, but some of his best work was done for Henry King. Peck portrayed apparently powerful and authoritative people whose underlying problems and character weaknesses threatened to ruin them in King's Twelve O'Clock High (1949), The Gunfighter (1950), David and Bathsheba (1951), The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952), The Bravados (1958), and Beloved Infidel (1959). For his portrayal of the moral and sympathetic Alabama attorney Atticus Finch in the film adaption of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, he was finally recognised with an Academy Award (1962). He went on to play a distressed father in the well-known horror movie The Omen (1976), the titular American general in MacArthur (1977), and a rare villain in The Boys from Brazil as Nazi doctor Josef Mengele (1978). Peck worked into the early 1990s (when he declared that he was basically retired), but his last few movies are largely forgettable. Peck won the most praise for his portrayals of stoic men driven by a desire for decency and justice throughout his career; he was less successful in roles requiring a wide range of emotions, such as Captain Ahab in Moby Dick (1956), where critics thought he failed to capture the compulsive qualities of one of the most complex characters in American literature. He nevertheless excelled in jobs that needed him to be the moral compass of a movie and was a charming actor. As one of the most helpful and non-egotistical actors in the movie business, Peck was also well-liked and respected. He worked extensively on civic, humanitarian, and political issues in addition to his work in movies. He cofounded the American Film Institute and served as chairman of its trustee board. He also served three years as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Peck missed one subject, therefore he did not graduate with his friends. His college classmates worried about him and questioned how he would manage without his diploma. He informed them, "I have everything I need from the university. Eldred was no longer a part of Peck's identity as he moved to New York City to study acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse under the tutelage of renowned acting coach Sanford Meisner.

He sometimes slept in Central Park because he was frequently broke. He was a barker at the 1939 World's Fair and a tour guide for NBC television at Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall. Prior to working for food in 1940 at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, where he appeared in five plays, including On Earth As It Is and Family Portrait, he dabbled in modelling. He made his acting debut on stage in 1941 in a Katharine Cornell production of George Bernard Shaw's play The Doctor's Dilemma as the secretary. Only one week before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the drama had its San Francisco premiere. In 1942, he made his Broadway debut as the main character in Emlyn Williams' The Morning Star. In The Willow and I alongside Edward Pawley that year, he gave his second Broadway performance. Since Peck was excused from military service due to a back ailment sustained while taking ballet and movement lessons from Martha Graham as part of his acting training, his acting skills were in high demand during World War II. Duel in the Sun, a western soap opera, featured Jennifer Jones as the seductive temptress who sparked Peck's love, rage, and desire. This was Peck's first "against type" role. David Thomson, a film historian, calls their connection "a continual knife battle of sensuality." The film, which also starred Joseph Cotten as Peck's upright half-brother and Jones' "steamy, sexpot" rival, received harsh criticism for its explicit content and was even outlawed in some towns. Duel in the Sun was the second-highest-grossing movie of both the 1940s and 1947 thanks to publicity surrounding its sexiness that included one of the largest cinema advertising efforts in history and a novel strategy of opening in several theatres simultaneously across the country. The first of Peck's two westerns in the 1950s was The Gunfighter (1950), which was directed by Henry King, with whom he had previously collaborated on Twelve O'Clock High. Peck portrays an aged "Top Gun of the West" who is tired of murdering and wants to retire with his beautiful but sensible wife and his kid, who is seven years old and whom he hasn't seen in a long time. Following extensive photographic research on the Wild West Era by Peck and King, which revealed that most cowboys had facial hair, "bowl" haircuts, and donned worn-out attire, Peck sported a moustache during filming.

[huariqueje]

Breaking Waves at Heyst,   -   Alfred William Finch, 1891, 

Belgian-British , 1854-1930

Oil on canvas,

[just-art5]

Alfred William Finch - Orchard at La Louvière, 1890

[populusfennicapatriam]

Alfred William Finch (Belgian, 1854 - 1930)   –   Urajärven museo