Peck's Bad Boy

Source

• Born: c. 1875
• Birthplace: Fiction
• Best Known As: Naughty hero of the "Peck's Bad Boy" stories

Peck's Bad Boy was the fictional star of newspaper stories and books created by George W. Peck in the late 1800s. Hennery (or Henry) Peck was a mischievous lad who loved to play sneaky pranks on others, especially his father, for the sheer pleasure of creating mayhem. The stories were a huge hit in their era, and the name Peck's Bad Boy became a popular term for any incorrigible rule-breaker. George Peck collected his stories into several books, most notably Peck's Bad Boy and His Pa (1883).

Peck's Bad Boy was played by George M. Cohan in an 1891 stage adaptation of the stories. He was played in a 1921 silent film by Jackie Coogan (who the same year co-starred with Charlie Chaplin in The Kid and later was Uncle Fester on the TV sitcom The Addams Family) and in a 1934 'talkie' by a later child star, Jackie Cooper... Peck's Bad Boy was also the name of a popular jazz band of the 1920s... Peck's Bad Boy is no relation to real-life actor Gregory Peck.

Dictionary: Peck's bad boy  (pĕks)

A person whose bad behavior embarrasses and annoys others.

[After Peck's Bad Boy and His Pa, by George Wilbur Peck (1840–1916), American writer.]

Peck's Bad Boy (1884), a play by Charles Pidgin. [Haverly's New York Comedy Theatre, 40 perf.] Young Henry Peck (William Carroll) is the bane of his neighborhood, creating mayhem wherever he might be, whether that is his own home, the local grocery and drug stores, or out on a picnic. Accompanying him on his havoc‐making escapades are his “chum” Jimmy (Mollie Fuller) and his little girl friend (Florence Bates). Advertised as “Without plot, but with a purpose—to make people laugh,” the play was viewed by the Clipper as indeed “sans plot and sans motif,” but “Though the piece is the veriest nonsense, it is irresistible in its humor.” Based on George Peck's “The Bad Boy Sketches,” which had originally appeared in the Milwaukee Sun, the comedy remained a popular touring attraction for thirty years. Among the many performers who headed road companies and later went on to stardom were George M. Cohan and Frank Daniels.

Bad Boys may refer to:

In film:

• Bad Boys (1961 film), a 1961 film by Susumu Hani
• Bad Boys (1983 film), a 1983 film starring Sean Penn
• Bad Boys (1995 film), a 1995 film starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence
  • Bad Boys II, the 2003 sequel to Bad Boys (1995)

In music:

• "Bad Boys" (Inner Circle song), a song by Inner Circle, used in the 1995 film and TV show COPS
• "Bad Boys" (Wham! song), a song by pop duo Wham!
• Bad Boys (Baccara album), an album (and song on it) by Spanish duo Baccara
• Bad Boys (Bob Marley song)

In video games:

• Bad Boys: Miami Takedown, a video game based on the Michael Bay films

Groups:

• The Detroit Pistons basketball team, known as the Bad Boys in the late 1980s to early 1990s

See also

• Bad Boy

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