Charles K. Peck Jr.; Screenwriter, Producer Nominated for Oscar

Charles K. Peck Jr., 75, screenwriter and producer nominated for an Academy Award for the 1953 film “Seminole.” Born in New York, he earned degrees from the University of North Carolina and Yale University. He began writing screenplays in the 1950s, penning such films as “The Basketball Fix,” “Yankee Buccaneer,” “The Key” and “Matador.” By 1960, he had established Charles Peck Productions. He also wrote and produced for television, including “Philco Playhouse,” which earned him an Emmy nomination. He worked with the early television dramatic show “Omnibus,” and created the series “Paris Precinct,” “The Lawyer,” “The Challenger” and “Caribe.” Peck also wrote and produced for Broadway, including the shows “When in Rome,” “High Heels” and “La Strada.” He was married and divorced from two actresses, Elizabeth Fraser and Claudia Cardinale. On Tuesday in Los Angeles of heart and respiratory failure.