Gregory Peck Atticus Finch, a Depression-era lawyer and widowed father, in a film adaptation of the Harper Lee novel "To Kill a Mockingbird". Released in 1962 during the height of the Civil Rights Movement in the Southern United States, this film and his role were Peck's favorites. In 2003, Peck's portrayal of Atticus Finch was named the greatest film hero of the past 100 years by the American Film Institute. Peck served as the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1967, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Film Institute from 1967 to 1969, Chairman
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film) being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." In June 2008, the American Film Institute revealed its "Ten Top Ten" lists of the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres, based on polls of over 1,500 people from the creative community. "Beauty and the Beast" was acknowledged as the seventh-best film in the animation genre. In previous lists, it ranked number 22 on the Institute's list of best musicals and number 34 on its list of the best romantic American films. On the list of the greatest songs from American films, "Beauty and the Beast" ranked number 62. American