Peter Aurness, professionally known as Peter Graves, died at 83 on March 14, 2010. Graves died of a heart attack four days before his 84th birthday. The actor had just returned from brunch with his wife and children, collapsing before he could enter the house. Although one of his daughters administered CPR, she could not revive him.
Peter Graves was a film and television actor known for his starring role in the television series Mission: Impossible from 1967 to 1973. He was the younger brother of actor James Arness, 86, of Gunsmoke fame.
Graves appeared in more than seventy films, TV series and TV movies. Jim Phelps, the sometimes gruff leader of the Impossible Missions Force or IMF, for the remaining six seasons of the series.
After the series ended in 1973, Graves played a cameo-type support role in the feature film Sidecar Racers in Australia which was released in 1975. Graves also made a guest appearance in the teen soap opera Class of '74 in mid-1974, playing himself.
During the 1990s he hosted the documentary series Biography on A&E. He also acted in a number of films featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 which include SST: Death Flight, It Conquered the World, Beginning of the End, and Parts: The Clonus Horror. The movie Killers from Space was featured in The Film Crew, Michael J. Nelson's follow-up to MST3K. Graves himself parodied his Biography work in the film Men in Black II, hosting an exposé television show.
In the 1996 film update of Mission: Impossible, the character of Phelps was reimagined as a traitor who murdered three fellow IMF agents, a decision that disappointed Graves. Jon Voight was cast as Phelps.
Newly "appointed" was Graves' star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, as he received the honor on October 30, 2009. Photo immediately above, was taken on that day.
In 2009 AirTran Airways featured Graves in a series of web-only "Internetiquette" videos in which Graves appeared in a pilot's uniform and references classic Airplane! lines. The videos were part of an AirTran Airways campaign to promote their in-flight WI-FI internet access.
Also in 2009 Graves signed on as a spokesperson for reverse mortgage lender, American Advisors Group(AAG). Graves appeared in a national commercial in which he educated seniors about the benefits of reverse mortgages. - Peter Graves, you are sorely missed.
