George Peppard: Man for all reasons

George Peppard was that gorgeous actor in ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s with Audrey Hepburn. Besides being incredibly good looking in a charming boyish sort of way he was also an extremely fine actor during the late 50s and onward. ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s was probably his most well known film due to the fact that it was so popular. Peppards stoic and intensely loyal writer character was the perfect foil for Hepburn’s zany antics as Holly Golightly. Peppard’s character Paul Varjak ( nicknamed Fred ) is the strong sensitive type with a touch of mystery about him much like the actor himself. Apparently many directors found Peppard difficult to work with as they found him to be quite arrogant but really it was more of his just wanting to play characters with more structure as he did not want to be labelled a pretty boy. For this reason he moved into the action movie genre. Other well known films made by George Peppard include ‘Home From The Hill’ with Robert Mitchum, George Hamilton and Eleanor Parker and ‘The Blue Max’ in which he plays Baron Von Richtofen ( The Bloody Red Baron ) who shot down more planes during WW1 Than any German pilot before or since. In ‘Home From The Hill’ He plays the illegitemate son of Mitchum who is treated just like another hired hand on his fathers ranch. He watches his half brother played by George Hamilton get all the privileges of life while he is virtually ignored. His character portrayal is unique in that he plays him with a calm, loving demeanor when the part just screamed for the stereotypical angry, thwarted, misunderstood character that audiences had come to expect with that type of role. Personally I find Peppard charming both inside and out. Look out for his films and you will not be disappointed. Sincerity, intelligence, strength and charm all wrapped up in a beautiful package.