Peter Graves
Acting • Born 1926-03-18 – Died 2010-03-14
Biography
Peter Graves (born Peter Duesler Aurness; March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010) was an American actor. While growing up in Minnesota, he excelled at sports and music (as a saxophonist), and by age 16, he was a radio announcer at WMIN in Minneapolis. After two years in the United States Air Force, he studied drama at the University of Minnesota and then headed to Hollywood, where he first appeared on television and later made his film debut in Rogue River (1951). Numerous film appearances followed, especially in Westerns. However, Graves is primarily recognized for his television work, particularly as Jim Phelps in Mission: Impossible (1966). Peter Graves died of a heart attack on March 14, 2010, just four days before his 84th birthday.
Filmography
173 credits
Stalag 17
Movie • 1953
Sgt. Frank Price
Airplane!
Movie • 1980
Capt. Clarence Oveur
The Night of the Hunter
Movie • 1955
Ben Harper
Aces Go Places III: Our Man from Bond Street
Movie • 1984
Tom Collins
Airplane II: The Sequel
Movie • 1982
Capt. Clarence Oveur
The Movie Orgy
Movie • 1968
Self (archive footage)
Paul and Michelle
Movie • 1974
Sir Henry
Darryl F. Zanuck: 20th Century Filmmaker
Movie • 1995
Self - Host
Killers from Space
Movie • 1954
Douglas Martin
Beneath the 12-Mile Reef
Movie • 1953
Arnold Dix
Rogue River
Movie • 1951
Pete Dandridge
Red Planet Mars
Movie • 1952
Chris Cronyn
Black Tuesday
Movie • 1954
Peter Manning
Sidecar Racers
Movie • 1975
Carson
It Conquered the World
Movie • 1956
Dr. Paul Nelson
Linda Darnell: Hollywood's Fallen Angel
Movie • 1999
Narrator
The Long Gray Line
Movie • 1955
Corporal Rudolph Heinz
The 5-Man Army
Movie • 1969
Dutchman
The Dean Martin Christmas Show
Movie • 1968
Self (uncredited)
Savannah Smiles
Movie • 1982
Harland Dobbs
Beginning of the End
Movie • 1957
Dr. Ed Wainwright
The Mysterious Monsters
Movie • 1976
Himself - Narrator
Missile X: The Neutron Bomb Incident
Movie • 1979
Alec Franklin
The Ballad of Josie
Movie • 1968
Jason Meredith
Death in Small Doses
Movie • 1957
Agent / Tom Kaylor
Fury
Movie • 1955
Jim Newton
These Old Broads
Movie • 2001
Bill
Parts: The Clonus Horror
Movie • 1979
Jeff Knight
Survival Run
Movie • 1979
Kandaris
Bayou
Movie • 1957
Martin Davis
A Rage to Live
Movie • 1965
Jack Hollister
Where Have All the People Gone
Movie • 1974
Steven Anders
The Naked Street
Movie • 1955
Joe McFarland
War Paint
Movie • 1953
Trooper Tolson
Hold Back The Night
Movie • 1956
Lt. Lee Couzens
Wichita
Movie • 1955
Morgan Earp
Doris Day: It's Magic
Movie • 1998
Narrator
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell
Movie • 1955
Capt. Bob Elliott
Fort Defiance
Movie • 1951
Ned Tallon
Scream of the Wolf
Movie • 1974
John Wetherby
Canyon River
Movie • 1956
Bob Andrews
The Yellow Tomahawk
Movie • 1954
Sawyer
Wolf Larsen
Movie • 1958
Van Weyden
Fort Yuma
Movie • 1955
Lt. Ben Keegan
Betty Boop: Queen of the Cartoons
Movie • 1995
Self - Narrator (voice)
What a Difference a Day Made: Doris Day Superstar
Movie • 2009
Self
Dead Man on the Run
Movie • 1975
Jim Gideon
Robbers' Roost
Movie • 1955
Heesman
A Stranger in My Arms
Movie • 1959
Donald Beasley
SST: Death Flight
Movie • 1978
Paul Whitley
Death Car on the Freeway
Movie • 1979
Lt. Haller
Texas Across the River
Movie • 1966
Capt. Stimpson
Mystery Reel
Movie • 2022
East of Sumatra
Movie • 1953
Cowboy
Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square Featuring Audra McDonald and Peter Graves
Movie • 2005
Self
Addams Family Values
Movie • 1993
Host
Steve Martin: Comedy Is Not Pretty
Movie • 1980
TV Director
The Congregation
Movie • 1952
The Raid
Movie • 1954
Capt. Frank Dwyer
America on the Move 1876-2000
Movie • 2003
Host
The Assassination Bureau
Movie • 1969
Dragomiloff's Butler (uncredited)
Behind the Legend: Timon
Movie • 2004
Himself - Host
House on Haunted Hill
Movie • 1999
Self
Valley of Mystery
Movie • 1967
Ben Barstow
Angels in the Outfield
Movie • 1951
Radio Announcer (uncredited)
Race for Survival
Movie • 1978
Narrator
The Unexplained: Witches, Werewolves & Vampires
Movie • 1994
Host
High Seas Hijack
Movie • 1977
Elliott Rhoades
Number One with a Bullet
Movie • 1987
Capt. Ferris
Sergeant Ryker
Movie • 1968
Maj. Whitaker
The President's Plane Is Missing
Movie • 1973
Mark Jones
Marilyn Monroe: The Mortal Goddess
Movie • 1994
Self - Host
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Movie • 2003
Host of Civil Defense Film
Jerry Lewis: The Last American Clown
Movie • 1996
Self - Host
Gene Tierney: A Shattered Portrait
Movie • 1999
Self - Host
The Memory of Eva Ryker
Movie • 1980
Mike Rogers
Mother Teresa: A Life of Devotion
Movie • 1997
Self - Host
Men in Black II
Movie • 2002
Peter Graves
Charlie Chaplin: A Tramp's Life
Movie • 1998
Self - Narrator
Call to Danger
Movie • 1973
Doug Warfield
The Guns and the Fury
Movie • 1983
Mark Janser
300 Miles for Stephanie
Movie • 1981
Capt. McIntyre
Gallegher Goes West
Movie • 1966
Marshal Neimeyer
The Adventurers
Movie • 1970
Trustee Banker
Mission: Impossible vs. the Mob
Movie • 1969
Jim Phelps
The Underground Man
Movie • 1974
Lew Archer
Abbott & Costello Meet Biography
Movie • 1996
Self - Host
Gettysburg - An American Story
Movie • 2014
Narrator
William Shakespeare: A Life of Drama
Movie • 1996
The Demon Lover
Movie • 1986
Ponsonby
Darkstar: Terror at the Edge of Time
Movie • 2010
Narrator
Aliens from Space
Movie
Doug Martin
Jean Harlow: Platinum Bombshell
Movie • 1996
Narrator
Shirley Temple: The Biggest Little Star
Movie • 1996
Narrator
Mission: Impossible - The Slave
Movie • 1967
Jim Phelps
Mission: Impossible - The Bunker
Movie • 1969
James Phelps
Mission: Impossible - The Controllers
Movie • 1969
Jim Phelps
Mission: Impossible - The Falcon
Movie • 1970
James Phelps
Mission: Impossible - The Golden Serpent
Movie • 1989
Jim Phelps
Under the Law: Arrest and Seize
Movie • 1973
Narration
Don't Ask Don't Tell
Movie • 2002
The All Star Spangled Mission
Movie • 1973
The Great Adventure
TV • 1963
Daniel Boone
Life with Lucy
TV • 1986
Ben Marshall
House
TV • 2004
Myron
American Dad!
TV • 2005
Mr. Pibb (voice)
The Sonny and Cher Show
TV • 1976
Kraft Suspense Theatre
TV • 1963
Maj. Frank Whitaker
The F.B.I.
TV • 1965
Manning Fryes
The Love Boat
TV • 1977
Gerald Whitney
The Golden Girls
TV • 1985
Jerry Kennedy
Mickey Mouse Works
TV • 1999
Cold Case
TV • 2003
Anton Bikker (2006)
Route 66
TV • 1960
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
TV • 1979
Major Noah Cooper
Fury
TV • 1955
Jim Newton
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
TV • 1992
Diagnosis: Murder
TV • 1993
Peter Graves
The Angry Beavers
TV • 1997
Studio One
TV • 1948
Glenn Willis
The Ed Sullivan Show
TV • 1948
Self
Mission: Impossible
TV • 1966
Jim Phelps
7th Heaven
TV • 1996
John "Colonel" Camden
Hallmark Hall of Fame
TV • 1951
Dr. James Ewing
Laredo
TV • 1965
Funny Face
TV • 1971
Run for Your Life
TV • 1965
Jim Carlson
Minoriteam
TV • 2005
Sheldon Miller
Fireside Theater
TV • 1949
Daniel Boone
TV • 1964
Logan Harris
The Millionaire
TV • 1955
Paul Hartley
The Virginian
TV • 1962
Robert Gaynor
Mission: Impossible
TV • 1988
Jim Phelps
Whiplash
TV • 1961
Christopher Cobb
The Farmer's Daughter
TV • 1963
The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse
TV • 1953
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV • 1951
Rocky Kent
Lux Video Theatre
TV • 1950
Joel Barker
Climax!
TV • 1954
Stanley
The Dean Martin Show
TV • 1965
Matinee Theater
TV • 1955
Branded
TV • 1965
12 O'Clock High
TV • 1964
Cimarron City
TV • 1958
Cavalcade of America
TV • 1952
Maj. Tom Howie
Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense
TV • 1984
John Bray
Celebrity Playhouse
TV • 1955
The Actor Awards Presented by SAG-AFTRA
TV • 1995
Self
Biff Baker U.S.A.
TV • 1952
Premiere
TV • 1968
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
TV • 1973
Self
The Winds of War
TV • 1983
Palmer 'Fred' Kirby
Court Martial
TV • 1965
Major Frank Whittaker
War and Remembrance
TV • 1988
Palmer Kirby
The Love Boat
TV • 1977
Leonard Culver
The Mike Douglas Show
TV • 1961
Self
Unauthorized Biographies with Peter Graves
TV • 1993
Self - Narrator
Burke's Law
TV • 1994
General Prescott
Climax!
TV • 1954
Steve Baxter
The Invaders
TV • 1967
Gavin Lewis
The Love Boat
TV • 1977
Carl Lawrence
Dinah!
TV • 1974
Self
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
TV • 1962
Mark Needham
Murder, She Wrote
TV • 1984
Edmund Gerard
Golden Globe Awards
TV • 1944
Self - Presenter
Disney's House of Mouse
TV • 2001
Instructor Voice (voice)
Simon & Simon
TV • 1981
Wade Christian
Studio 57
TV • 1954
Jim Bailey
The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse
TV • 1953
Fred Crain
Biography
TV • 1987
Self - Host
The Duchess of Duke Street
TV • 1976
Sir Evelyn Grant-Wortley
The Rebels
TV • 1979
George Washington
The Complete Churchill
TV • 1992
Presenter