Peter Graves (born Peter Duesler Aurness; March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010) was an American actor who portrayed Jim Phelps in the television series Mission: Impossible from 1967 to 1973 and in its revival from 1988 to 1990. His elder brother was actor James Arness. Graves also played airline pilot Captain Clarence Oveur in the 1980 comedy film Airplane! and its 1982 sequel Airplane II: The Sequel.
Early life and education
Peter Graves was born Peter Duesler Aurness on March 18, 1926, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the younger son of Rolf Cirkler Aurness (1894–1982), a businessman, and his wife, Ruth (née Duesler, died 1986), a journalist.
Graves's ancestry was Norwegian, German, and English. He used the stage name Graves, a maternal family name, to honor his mother's family, and also so as to not be confused with the stage name of his elder brother James Arness, star of the television series Gunsmoke.
Graves graduated from Southwest High School in 1944. He was a two-time Minnesota state track champion in the 120 yard high hurdles at Southwest. He served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II from 1944 to 1945, In 1955, Graves joined the NBC television series Fury, as the rancher and adoptive single father, Jim Newton.
From 1960 to 1961, Graves starred as Christopher Cobb in 34 episodes of the British/Australian TV series Whiplash. He played opposite Robert Mitchum, Jan Michael Vincent, Deborah Winters and Ali MacGraw in what became in 1983, the second-most watched miniseries of all time (after Roots). He reprised the role for the 1988 sequel miniseries, War and Remembrance. During this time, he became the host of PBS's Discover: The World of Science.
After playing mainly serious roles in the 1970s, he appeared as Captain Clarence Oveur in the early 1980s comedies Airplane! and Airplane II: The Sequel.
In 1988, a Hollywood writers' strike resulted in a new Mission: Impossible series being commissioned. Graves was the only cast member from the original series to return as a regular, reprising his role as Jim Phelps, though others (most notably Greg Morris, whose son Phil was a regular in this version) made guest appearances. The series was filmed in Australia, and Graves made his third journey there for acting work. The new version of Mission: Impossible lasted for two seasons, ending in 1990. Bookending his work on Mission: Impossible, Graves starred in two pilot films, both called Call to Danger, which were attempts to create a Mission: Impossible–style series. In the first of these (1968), Graves played a government agent (the Bureau of National Resources) who recruited civilians with special talents for secret missions. In the second Call to Danger, he portrayed an investigator for the Justice Department.
thumb|left|Graves attending a ceremony to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in October 2009
thumb|Graves with wife Joan Endress in October 2009
The 1960s version of the pilot, according to Patrick White in The Complete Mission: Impossible Dossier (which White reports was actually the second such pilot, but Graves was not involved in the first), is credited with winning Graves the role of Phelps; after Mission: Impossible ended in 1973, Graves filmed a third version of the pilot (this one structured as a made-for-TV movie), but it did not sell as a series. The concept was later used in the brief 1980s adventure series Masquerade.
During the 1990s, he hosted and narrated the documentary series Biography on A&E. He also acted in a number of films featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000, which subsequently featured running jokes about Graves' Biography work and presumed sibling rivalry with Arness. The films that have been featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 include SST: Death Flight, It Conquered the World, Beginning of the End, and Parts: The Clonus Horror. The film Killers from Space was featured in The Film Crew, Michael J. Nelson's follow-up to MST3K. Graves himself parodied his Biography work in the film Men in Black II, hosting an exposé television show. He also played Colonel John Camden in the television series 7th Heaven.
thumb|Graves with [[Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series)|Mission: Impossible cast in 1970]]
Graves refused to reprise the role of Jim Phelps (played by Jon Voight) in the first 1996 theatrical film of Mission: Impossible, after the character was revealed to be a traitor and the villain of the film. In the film, Phelps murders three fellow IMF agents, and is killed in a helicopter crash at the end, a decision that disappointed Graves and fellow cast members, and upset many fans of the original series. The videos were part of an AirTran Airways campaign to promote their in-flight wireless internet access. Graves' final project was narrating the computer game epic Darkstar: The Interactive Movie, released November 5, 2010.
Personal life
right|thumb|Handprints of Peter Graves in front of [[Fantasmic!|Hollywood Hills Amphitheater at the Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park]]
Graves was a devout Christian of immigrant German Lutheran descent. He was married to Joan Endress Graves for 60 years from 1950 until his death.
Graves and his wife Joan had three daughters.
Graves helped organize a Los Angeles city ban on gas-powered leaf blowers.
Death
On March 14, 2010, after returning from brunch with his family, Graves suffered a heart attack outside his Los Angeles home. His daughter attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but he was pronounced dead, aged 83.
Awards
Graves was awarded a Golden Globe Award in 1971 for his role as Jim Phelps in the series Mission: Impossible. In 1972, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. He also received nominations for an Emmy Award and Golden Globe awards in other seasons of that show. Graves also won a Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding informational series in 1997 as host of Biography.