Peter Graves of Mission Impossible Fame Dead at 83

Peter Graves who played the role of Jim Phelps, chief of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF) in the television series, "Mission Impossible" has passed away at the age of 83. Playing the strong, intelligent hero in Mission Impossible, Peter Graves, became a household name and he and his team of agents fought the forces of evil each week on our televisions.

Peter Graves's publicist, Sandy Brokaw, released a statement that said Peter Graves died today, Sunday the 14th, right after he returned to his Pacific Palisades home. Peter Graves had just had brunch with his family.

Peter Graves was born Peter Aurness in Minneapolis. From 1944-1945 he served in the Air Force. Peter Graves then used his G.I Bill to study Drama at the University of Minnesota. It wasn't long after that he left for Hollywood with his older brother, James Arness. Peter Graves landed his first role in "Rogue River" (1950), at that time he changed his given name to Peter Graves.

Other roles for Peter Graves included Billy Wilder's "Stalag 17" (1953) here he played a treacherous Nazi spy, Charles Laughton's "Night of the Hunter" (1955); Otto Preminger's "Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell" (1955); and John Ford's "Long Gray Line" (1955).

But in the early part of his career, where he really gained his notoriety was as Jim Phelps, leader of the IMF, an organization that fought evil through the use of special secret agents that supposedly never existed - certainly never existed if they got caught.

Peter Graves then took a totally different turn with his career with his portrayal of an airline pilot Clarence Oveur in the 1980 classic comedy "Airplane!". Younger audiences will remember Peter Graves for a wonderful line that he delivered in "Airplane!" to a young man that happened to be in the cockpit with him, "Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?"

In the mid-1980's Peter Graves became a recurring host of television science specials on "Discover." In 1987, he became the host of the Arts and Entertainment Network's long-running "Biography" series. In 1997, Peter Graves was the subject of his own "Biography" presentation, "Peter Graves: Mission Accomplished." Peter Graves was awarded a Golden Globe Award in 1971 for his performance in "Mission Impossible". And in 1997, Peter Grave won an Emmy Award for outstanding informational series for "Biography".

Peter Graves graced us all with his talent and his intelligence for years on both television and in the movies. At 83 years old, Peter Graves is dead and will be missed by many.
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Sources:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iaFqKSXSuNP7TSKRGM5mS1Kmug9wD9EEOTKG1

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/15/arts/television/15graves.html