Mary Badham on the set of To Kill a Mockingbird in 1962. (click for larger version)

Badham, who stayed in touch with Mockingbird star Gregory Peck throughout their lives, said she always called him “Atticus,” his character name. She was the youngest person to be nominated for an Academy Award until Tatum O’Neal won an Oscar for Paper Moon. (Badham lost to Patty Duke, who won the Oscar for her role as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker.)

Badham’s appearance is the highlight of the Jefferson County Library system’s The Big Read program, which urges local residents to read a particular work of fiction to encourage group discussion. Participants are reading To Kill a Mockingbird for the month of April. The week of Badham’s visit will also include two free screenings of the film: one at the Hoover Library Theatre on April 7, and one at the Alabama Theatre one evening of April 10. &

Mary Badham will speak at the Hoover Library Theatre on April 11 at 7 p.m. Admission is free. Call 444-7820 or go to www.hoover.lib.al.us/bigread for details.