Peter Graves, the brother of legendary actor and Gunsmoke star James Arness and star of one of this bloggers favorite shows other than Star Trek, Mission Impossible, and the movie Airplane, died today, Sunday, at 83 years of age.
According to the Associated Press video below, Graves had returned to his home in Pacific Palisades, California after having brunch with his family.
While Peter Graves has roles in more than 70 productions spanning a 60-year career, he will always be known as secret agent Jim Phelps in Mission Impossible.
Video: Peter Graves passes:
Jim Phelps always opened Mission Impossible by receiving an order ("Good morning, Mr. Phelps..") in an uncommon way, and always with the tape recorder self destructing within seconds. Mission Impossible was the the thinking person's James Bond series with interesting plot twists, disguises, and people you wanted to root for. Jim Phelps, the can do boss of the IMF team, was one of them.
1971 Mission Impossible opening scene with Peter Graves:
Peter Graves won a 1971 Emmy for the role of Jim Phelps, and was always known for serious character roles. Then, there was Airplane. Here's a classic scene with Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Peter Graves:
Here, much later in life, Peter Graves reflects on his career:
And in this video, Star Trek Producer and Director J.J. Abrams talks about the idea of bring Peter Graves in for Mission Impossible 4:
Peter Graves is an American Icon who will be dearly missed.
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