No foul play is expected. He was 83.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/S...tml?hpt=T1

Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Actor Peter Graves, best known for his starring role on TV's "Mission: Impossible," was found dead Sunday at his home, according to a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department. He was 83.

There was no sign of foul play in the actor's death, officer Karen Rayner said.

Graves portrayed the character Jim Phelps for all but one of the seven years "Mission: Impossible" ran on CBS, from 1967-1973. He won a Golden Globe in 1971 for his work on the show, and he was also nominated for an Emmy.

He reprised the role from 1988 to 1990 when the show resurfaced on ABC.

In an interview with CNN in 1996, Graves expressed disappointment with Hollywood's movie version of "Mission: Impossible" -- starring Tom Cruise -- which included none of the stars from the original TV series. Actor Jon Voigt played the Phelps character.

"I am sorry that they chose to call him Phelps," he said at the time. "They could have solved that very easily by either having me in a scene in the very beginning, or reading a telegram from me saying, 'Hey boys, I'm retired, gone to Hawaii. Thank you, good-bye, you take over now.'"

Graves also appeared as Capt. Clarence Oveur in the 1980 movie spoof "Airplane!" -- a role he originally turned down, according to the Web's Internet Movie Database. He changed his mind after meeting with the film's writers, according to IMDb.

In recent years, Graves was part of a larger group that won an Outstanding Informational Series Emmy for the 1997 TV documentary "Judy Garland: Beyond the Rainbow." Graves hosted the documentary.

He is survived by his wife, Joan Endress, and three daughters, Kelly, Claudia and Amanda Graves, according to IMDb. Graves was the younger brother of actor James Arness, who starred in the long-running TV series "Gunsmoke" as Marshal Matt Dillon.

RIP



.
[Edited 3/15/10 17:43pm]

Few things sadden me more than the elderly dying alone. "Found Dead" just sounds so sad.

TheVoid said:

I agree. For a split second, it sounds sinister, then it sounds sad when you realize it's an older person. I would bet it was natural causes. 83 was a full life, and he did a lot of great work on the screen, and I'm sure had a great life off the screen.

Oh no!!! I was just reading about him on Wiki three days ago.

Another article that was posted on sfgate from the AP. He was definitely a classic from both tv and movies. At least he wasn't alone when it happened.


(03-14) 19:49 PDT LOS ANGELES, (AP) --

Peter Graves, the tall, stalwart actor likely best known for his portrayal of Jim Phelps, leader of a gang of special agents who battled evil conspirators in the long-running television series "Mission: Impossible," died Sunday.

Graves died of an apparent heart attack outside his Los Angeles home, publicist Sandy Brokaw said. He would have been 84 this week.

Graves had just returned from brunch with his wife and kids and collapsed before he made it into the house, Brokaw said. One of his daughters administered CPR but was unable to revive him. Graves' family doctor visited the house and believed he had a heart attack, Brokaw said.

Although Graves never achieved the stardom his older brother, James Arness, enjoyed as Marshal Matt Dillon on TV's "Gunsmoke," he had a number of memorable roles in both films and television.

Normally cast as a hero, he turned in an unforgettable performance early in his career as the treacherous Nazi spy in Billy Wilder's 1953 prisoner-of-war drama "Stalag 17."

He also masterfully lampooned his straight-arrow image when he portrayed bumbling airline pilot Clarence Oveur in the 1980 disaster movie spoof "Airplane!"

Graves appeared in dozens of films and a handful of television shows in a career of nearly 60 years.

The authority and trust he projected made him a favorite for commercials late in his life, and he was often encouraged to go into politics.

"He had this statesmanlike quality," Brokaw said. "People were always encouraging him to run for office. But he said, 'I like acting. I like being around actors.'"

Graves' career began with cheaply made exploitation films like "It Conquered the World," in which he battled a carrot-shaped monster from Venus, and "Beginning of the World," in which he fought a giant grasshopper.

He later took on equally formidable human villains each week on "Mission: Impossible."

Every show began with Graves, as agent Phelps, listening to a tape of instructions outlining his team's latest mission and explaining that if he or any of his agents were killed or captured "the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions."

The tape always self-destructed within seconds of being played.

The show ran on CBS from 1967 to 1973 and was revived on ABC from 1988 to 1990 with Graves back as the only original cast member.

The actor credited clever writing for the show's success.

"It made you think a little bit and kept you on the edge of your seat because you never knew what was going to happen next," he once said.

He also played roles in such films as John Ford's "The Long Gray Line" and Charles Laughton's "The Night of the Hunter," as well as "The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell,""Texas Across the River" and "The Ballad of Josie."

Graves' first television series was a children's Saturday morning show, "Fury," about an orphan and his untamed black stallion. Filmed in Australia, it lasted six years on NBC. A western, "Whiplash," also shot in Australia, played for a year in syndication, and the British-made "Court-Martial" appeared on ABC for one season. In his later years, Graves brought his white-haired eminence to PBS as host of "Discover: The World of Science" and A&E's "Biography" series.

He noted during an interview in 2000 that he made his foray into comedy somewhat reluctantly.

Filmmakers Jim Abrahams and David and Jerry Zucker had written a satire on the airplane-in-trouble movies, and they wanted Graves and fellow handsome actors Lloyd Bridges, Leslie Nielsen and Robert Stack to spoof their serious images.

All agreed, but Graves admitted to nervousness. On the one hand, he said, he considered the role a challenge, "but it also scared me."

"I thought I could lose a whole long acting career," he recalled.

"Airplane!" became a box-office smash, and Graves returned for "Airplane II, The Sequel."

Born Peter Aurness in Minneapolis, Graves adopted his grandfather's last name to avoid confusion with his older brother, James, who had dropped the "U" from the family name.

He was a champion hurdler in high school, as well as a clarinet player in dance bands and a radio announcer.

After two years in the Air Force, he enrolled at the University of Minnesota as a drama major and worked in summer stock before following his brother west to Hollywood.

He found enough success there to send for his college sweetheart, Joan Endress. They were married in 1950 and had three daughters — Kelly Jean, Claudia King and Amanda Lee — and six grandchildren.

Graves credited the couple's Midwest upbringing for a marriage that lasted more than 50 years in a town not known for long unions.

"Hollywood or New York ... can be very flighty and dangerous places to live, but the good grounding we had in the Midwest ethic I think helped us all our lives," he said.

___

Associated Press Writer Andrew Dalton contributed to this report.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi...z0iDDGYRaP

wow, he's was really a great actor.

ernestsewell said:

He wasn't "found dead" as first reported, and he wasn't alone.

Associated Press:

I never knew his older brother was James Arness, who played Marshal Matt Dillon on TV's "Gunsmoke," The things you learn once someone passes away. Rest peacefully Peter .

.
[Edited 3/14/10 23:34pm]

PDogz said:

I never knew that, either - though, in retrospect, I realize that they sounded alike. (We always watched Gunsmoke and Mission Impossible when I was a kid.)

RIP

wow not phelps man.....

RIP Peter Graves

Here's an updated article, correcting the "Found dead" part, as previously mentioned:

Awww man, one of my favorites...condolences to the family,

We kids got hooked on Mission Impossible because my mom loved the show, (not surprisingly, my grandma loved Gunsmoke, so it was also mandatory viewing.) At the time nobody knew that the two actors were brothers. MI was also one of the first regular series to feature an AA actor in a role that wasn't servile so that was another big point of interest for us.

Keep in mind that in those days most households had only one TV and the whole family and often neighbors would gather to watch popular shows, even moreso when we finally got a console model color TV to replace the old b&w model...trust me, that was a BIG deal! The year before that we got a phone and the year after...air conditioning!

Good times,

Anyhoo, back on topic, he was a great actor and I'm glad he lived a full life...RIP.

babynoz said:

'Memories, / Like the corners of my mind / Misty water-colored memories ...'

TD3 said:

*Of the waaaay we weeere.....*

funkyslsistah said:

Aw that is sad.

I think I saw him in a commercial just a couple days ago. Can't remember what is was for.

Sounds like he had a good/happy life though.

He was so funny in the Airplane movies

kpowers said:

He was

babynoz said:

"Have u ever rode on a cockpit before?"
"I don't think so I haven't even rode on a plane before."
"You ever seen a grown man naked?"



RIP.

ernestsewell said:

I am sorry to hear that Peter Graves died. When I saw it on Yahoo, the post didn't mention his age--I thought he was older. And I didn't know all these years that he was the brother of James Arness--who I grew to love watching re-reruns of "Gunsmoke" and the mini-series (I think it was called "How The West Was Won.) Peter died too young! (If you think 83 is too young!) But maybe that is because you want people to keep going going going as you get older (Say, The Rolling Stones!)

I will never forget him.I will never forget how much he made me laugh watching the Airplane movies.