He was a close friend and ardent supporter of President Lyndon Johnson, spending much time at the White House and the Johnson Ranch.
He was a close friend of Michael Jackson for the last 25 years of his life, and often went horse riding with the singer at his Neverland Ranch. During the Jordie Chandler scandal in 1993, Peck wrote a letter defending Jackson. He also gave a glowing video tribute to Jackson at his 30th Anniversary concert in New York in 2001.
He was a close friend of Jane Fonda, and frequently attended political rallies with her.
He was a close friend of former French President Jacques Chirac.
He was a heavy drinker as a young actor in Hollywood. In 1949 he was hospitalized with heart spasms, and while filming David and Bathsheba (1951) he was hospitalized with a suspected heart attack. Though it turned out to be a palpitation brought on by his lifestyle and overwork, he began to drink less thereafter. However, he did not stop smoking for many more years.
He was a lifelong opponent of nuclear weapons, and made On the Beach (1959) for this reason.
He was a vocal opponent of the Vietnam War, while remaining supportive of his son who was serving there.
He was an active supporter of AIDS fund raising.
He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1998 by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington D.C.
He was considered for Rock Hudson's role in Ice Station Zebra (1968).
He was given the role of Ambassador Robert Thorn in The Omen (1976) after Charlton Heston turned it down in order to make Midway (1976).
He was of English, Irish and Scottish heritage.
He was originally cast in the role played by Robert Taylor in Quo Vadis (1951).
He was voted the 27th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere Magazine.
He was voted the 58th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
His character from To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Atticus Finch, was voted the greatest screen hero of all time by the American Film Institute in May 2003, only two weeks before his death (beating out Indiana Jones, who was placed second, and James Bond who came third).
His earliest movie memory is of being so scared by The Phantom of the Opera (1925) at age 9 that his grandmother allowed him to sleep in the bed with her that night.
His election as President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1967 was widely seen as heralding in a new, younger, progressive and decidedly liberal era of filmmaking in Hollywood.
His favorite drink was Guinness, which he drank every day. Eventually he had a tap installed in the bar at his house.