Peter Graves

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

## Early life

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

## Career

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

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_. he died of heart attacks in Los Angeles

## Filmography

|Year|Títle|Rol|class="unsortable"|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

- Biography and filmography at Brian's Drive-In Theater
- Peter Graves at _The New York Times_

## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Peter Graves
- **image**: PeterGravesPodiumOct09.jpg
- **birth name**: Peter Duesler Aurness
- **birth date**: March 18, 1926
- **birth place**: Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, U.S.
- **death date**: March 14, 2010 (aged 83)
- **death place**: Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- **death cause**: Heart attack
- **nationality**: United States, American
- **occupation**: Actor
- **years active**: 1951-2010
- **spouse**: Joan Endress
(m. 1950-2010, his death)
- **children**: 3 daughters
- **parents**: Rolf Aurness
Ruth (née Duesler)
- **relatives**: James Arness (brother, dead)