Peter Graves

American actor (1926-2010)

Peter Graves (March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010) was an American actor.

Peter Graves
Born
Peter Duesler Aurness

March 18, 1926
DiedMarch 14, 2010 (aged 83)
Cause of deathHeart attack
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActor
Years active1951-2010
Spouse(s)Joan Endress
(m. 1950-2010, his death)
Children3 daughters
Parent(s)Rolf Aurness
Ruth (née Duesler)
RelativesJames Arness (brother, dead)

Early life

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His mother was of German ancestry; his father of Norwegian.

Career

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In the early years of his career he starred in sci fi movies such as Red Planet Mars (1952), Killers from Space (1954), and some low-budget western movies, including Fort Defiance (1951) and Fort Yuma (1955). He played Morgan Earp, in Wichita (1955), with Joel McCrea and directed by Jacques Tourneur.

Peter Graves won the role of traitor prisoner Sgt. Price in the movie Stalag 17 (1953), directed by Billy Wilder and starring William Holden. Another of his movies was The Night of the Hunter (1955), with Robert Mitchum.

Other movies include Texas Across the River (1966), with Dean Martin, The Ballad of Josie (1967), The Five Man Army (1969), where he leads a group of mercenaries in Mexico.

In 1980s he plays a crazy pilot, in the comedy movie Airplane! (1980) and Airplane II: The Sequel (1982).

His last movie was Addams Family Values (1993).

Television

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In 1967 Graves replaced Steven Hill in the CBS television series Mission: Impossible. He played the role Jim Phelps leader of a group of spies. He worked on the series from 1967 until 1973. He returned later to make Mission: Impossible 1988.

He also had a relative success in the series Fury (1955-1960), Whiplash (1961), and Court Martial (1965-1966).

Her performances include specials such as Hallmark Hall of Fame, Fireside Theatre, Celebrity Playhouse, Matinee Theatre, Cavalcade of America, Disneylandia, The Red Skelton Show.

Filmography

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Film
Year Títle Rol Notes
1951 Rogue River Pete Dandridge
1951 Fort Defiance Ned Tallon
1952 Red Planet Mars Chris Cronyn
1953 Stalag 17 Sgt. Price
1953 War Paint Trooper Tolson
1953 East of Sumatra Cowboy
1953 Beneath the 12-Mile Reef Arnold Dix
1954 Killers from Space Dr. Doug Paul Martin
1954 The Yellow Tomahawk Sawyer
1954 The Raid Capt. Frank Dwyer
1954 Black Tuesday Peter Manning
1955/1960 Fury Jim Newton TV series
1955 Robbers' Roost Heesman
1955 Wichita Morgan
1955 The Night of the Hunter Ben Harper
1955 The Naked Street Joe McFarland
1955 Fort Yuma Lt. Ben Keegan
1955 The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell
1956 It Conquered the World Dr. Paul Nelson
1956 Hold Back the Night Lt. Lee Couzens
1956 Canyon River Bob Andrews
1957 Beginning of the End Dr. Ed Wainwright
1957 Bayou Martin Davis
1957 Death in Small Doses Agent/Tom Kaylor
1958 Wolf Larsen Van Weyden
1959 A Stranger in My Arms Donald Ashton Beasley
1961 Whiplash Christopher Cobb TV series
1965 Sergeant Ryker Maj. Whitaker
1965/1966 Court Martial Maj. Frank Whittaker TV series
1966 Texas Across the River Capt. Rodney Stimpson
1967/1973 Mission Impossible James Phelps TV series
1967 The Ballad of Josie Jason Meredith
1969 The 5 Man Army! Dutchman
1975 Sidecar Racers Carson
1978 Missile X - Geheimauftrag Neutronenbombe Alec Franklin
1978 High Seas Hijack Elliott Rhoades
1979 Survival Run Kandaris
1979 The Clonus Horror Jeffrey Knight
1980 Airplane! Captain Clarence Oveur
1981 The Guns and the Fury Mark Janser
1982 Savannah Smiles Harland Dobbs
1982 Airplane II: The Sequel Capt. Clarence Oveur
1984 Zuijia paidang zhi nuhuang miling Tom Collins
1987 Number One with a Bullet Capt. Ferris
1988/1990 Mission: Impossible Jim Phelps TV series
1993 Addams Family Values Host
2010 Jack's Family Adventure George Vickery TV film

References

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