Peter Graves, ‘Mission: Impossible,’ ‘Airplane!’ star, dies at 83

LOS ANGELES — Peter Graves,
the rugged actor who starred in the hit TV series “Mission: Impossible”
and whose career took a comic turn in the disaster spoof “Airplane!,”
has died. He was 83.

Graves was found dead Sunday afternoon in front of his Los Angeles home from apparent natural causes, said Los Angeles Police Department Officer Karen Rayner.

Graves had just returned from brunch with his family
to celebrate his upcoming 84th birthday. He collapsed on the driveway
before he could reach his house, said Sandy Brokaw, his publicist. One of Graves’ daughters administered CPR but was unable to revive him, Brokaw said.

Graves starred in more than 70 television series and feature films, typically playing the straight-laced hero.

He was cast in one of his first major roles in the
1953 classic “Stalag 17,” in which he played an undercover Nazi spy
placed among American POWs in a German camp.

His most memorable role was on the 1960s CBS series “Mission: Impossible,” in which he played super-secret spy Jim Phelps, leader of the elite Impossible Missions Force. The show ran from 1967 to 1973 on CBS and 1988 to 1990 on ABC.
Every week, Graves was seen listening to a tape of instructions
detailing anonymous mission attempts carried out in secrecy. He won a
Golden Globe in 1971 for his role.

“Mission: Impossible,” along with other Western,
military and action parts in the 1970s, branded Graves as an actor who
could deliver solid, straight-shooting roles.

But that changed in 1980, when he became the star of the comedy “Airplane!,” in which he played Capt. Clarence Oveur, the bumbling pilot whose one-liners included, “Joey, do you like gladiator movies?”

Graves initially turned down the role. “I read it
and thought, ‘Gee, this is dangerous,'” Graves told the Los Angeles
Times in late 2009. “It was in terrible taste.”

But the film’s producer, Howard Koch, urged him to meet with the young filmmakers, David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker, who told him that they wanted somebody of stature and dignity to play the role “absolutely straight,” Graves recalled.

“They say you are supposed to stretch as an actor, so let’s go stretch it,” he said.

He joined other actors known for serious roles, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges and Leslie Nielsen, in the film.

Graves was born Peter Aurness in 1926 in Minneapolis, Minn., the son of a journalist and a businessman. Graves’ older brother, James Arness, would later go on to play Matt Dillon on “Gunsmoke.”

Graves adopted his grandfather’s last name to avoid confusion with his brother.

He studied drama at the University of Minnesota until arriving in Hollywood 60 years ago. He married his college sweetheart, Joan Endress, that same year.

One year later, he landed his first movie role in 1951’s “Rouge River.”
He later starred in the TV-show “Fury,” playing a horse rancher who
befriends an orphan. The contemporary Western series became a hit and
ran on NBC between 1955 and 1960.

During the 1990s, Graves hosted the documentary series “Biography” on A&E.

In an interview with the Times in December 2009, Graves said he wasn’t ready to retire. “There has got to be some good parts around for guys my age,” he said.

Recent roles included a guest part on “House” and 11 episodes on “7th Heaven.”

He recently read for a part on a TV series as a grandfather, Brokaw said.

Graves is also survived by three daughters and six grandchildren.

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