Peter Graves
Date of birth: 1926-03-18
Place of birth: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Known for: Acting
Also known as: Peter Duesler Aurness
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.
Movie Credits
Stalag 17
1953-05-29
It's a dreary Christmas 1944 for the American POWs in Stalag 17 and the men in Barracks 4, all serge
Airplane!
1980-06-27
An ex-fighter pilot forced to take over the controls of an airliner when the flight crew succumbs to
The Night of the Hunter
1955-07-27
In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whe
Aces Go Places III: Our Man from Bond Street
1984-01-25
A master thief is duped by lookalikes for James Bond and the Queen of England into stealing a valuab
Airplane II: The Sequel
1982-12-10
A faulty computer causes a passenger space shuttle to head straight for the sun, and man-with-a-past
The Movie Orgy
1968-01-01
Clips from assorted television programs, B-movies, commercials, music performances, newsreels, bloop
Paul and Michelle
1974-03-15
Taking place approximately three years after the events in Friends, Paul and Michelle follows the fa
Killers from Space
1954-01-23
Atomic scientist/pilot Doug Martin is missing after his plane crashes on an reconnaissance mission a
Darryl F. Zanuck: 20th Century Filmmaker
1995-09-03
A biography of Darryl F. Zanuck, mogul and the power behind 20th Century Fox throughout the Golden A
Beneath the 12-Mile Reef
1953-12-02
Mike and Tony Petrakis are a Greek father and son team who dive for sponges off the coast of Florida
Rogue River
1951-02-15
The story of Ownie Rodgers, the nephew of crooked Oregon police chief Joe Dandridge. A $70,000 windf
Red Planet Mars
1952-05-15
Husband-and-wife scientists pick up a pie-in-the-sky TV message supposedly from Mars.
Black Tuesday
1954-12-31
Vicious gangster Vincent Canelli pulls off a daring prison escape just moments before going to the e
Sidecar Racers
1975-04-30
You're going to get us both killed with your grandstanding...! Two guys, one girl, and no brakes! De
It Conquered the World
1956-07-14
An alien from Venus tries to take over the world with the help of a disillusioned human scientist, a
Linda Darnell: Hollywood's Fallen Angel
1999-08-24
Linda Darnell had the looks and talent to be a great Hollywood leading lady, but never quite deliver
The Long Gray Line
1955-01-04
The life story of a salt-of-the-earth Irish immigrant, who becomes an Army Noncommissioned Officer a
The 5-Man Army
1969-10-16
At the behest of local revolutionaries, a mercenary enlists four specialists in various combat style
The Dean Martin Christmas Show
1968-12-19
A Classic Holiday Celebration with Dean and Friends.
Savannah Smiles
1982-04-09
The young daughter of a politician runs away due to lack of attention. She hides in the car of two n
Beginning of the End
1957-06-28
An attractive reporter investigating the mysterious destruction of an Illinois town stumbles upon a
The Mysterious Monsters
1976-07-01
One of the many notorious 70's "unknown" documentaries, The Mysterious Monsters covers topics such a
Missile X: The Neutron Bomb Incident
1979-02-26
An American intelligence agent travels to pre-Islamic Revolution Iran to try to thwart a power-mad E
The Ballad of Josie
1968-02-01
A frontier widow aims to raise sheep despite a cattle rancher in old Wyoming.
Death in Small Doses
1957-09-15
A government agent investigates the use of illegal amphetamines among long-haul truck drivers.
Fury
1955-10-15
Jim Newton and his adopted son Joey navigate life on the Broken Wheel Ranch, with their close bond t
These Old Broads
2001-02-12
Network television executive Gavin hopes to reunite celebrated Hollywood stars Piper Grayson, Kate W
Parts: The Clonus Horror
1979-08-01
An escaped clone tries to expose a government plot to clone everyone and make a perfect society.
Survival Run
1979-04-26
A group of teenagers drive out into the desert in search of sex, beer, and general good times. When
Bayou
1957-06-01
A community of Cajun fishermen living around a remote bayou includes one authentic beauty, Marie, wh
A Rage to Live
1965-10-20
Grace Caldwell, a young Pennsylvania newspaper heiress living with her widowed mother, has trouble r
Where Have All the People Gone
1974-10-08
A strange series of solar flares proves fatal for inhabitants of the Earth, except for the fortunate
The Naked Street
1955-08-01
To make an honest woman of his pregnant sister, Rosalie, callous New York mobster Phil Regal intimid
War Paint
1953-08-28
An Indian and his beautiful sister attempt to destroy a cavalry patrol trying to deliver a peace tre
Hold Back The Night
1956-07-29
A Marine officer goes through Korea with the bottle of Scotch that his wife gave him in the last war
Wichita
1955-07-03
Former buffalo hunter and entrepreneur Wyatt Earp arrives in the lawless cattle town of Wichita Kans
Doris Day: It's Magic
1998-10-18
When the cameras rolled, Doris Day wore a happy face, never hinting at the pain she endured in her p
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell
1955-12-31
A dramatization of the American general and his court martial for publically complaining about High
Fort Defiance
1951-10-09
It's just after the Civil War and Ben Shelby arrives looking for Johnny Tallon whom he plans to kill
Scream of the Wolf
1974-01-16
A big-game hunter comes out of retirement to help track down a killer wolf, and begins to suspect th
Canyon River
1956-08-04
A rancher's foreman schemes against him on a cattle drive from Oregon to Wyoming.
The Yellow Tomahawk
1954-05-01
When the army insists on building a fort on Indian land, in defiance of a treaty, the warnings of a
Wolf Larsen
1958-10-26
A mean-spirited ship captain keeps his crew under his autocratic thumb while indulging his more refi
Fort Yuma
1955-10-04
Apaches plan to attack a fort by wearing uniforms plundered from a cavalry officer's (Peter Graves)
Betty Boop: Queen of the Cartoons
1995-01-01
From the A&E "Biography" series, a review of the birth, development and cinematic history of Betty B
What a Difference a Day Made: Doris Day Superstar
2009-04-02
A documentary about Doris Day and the question where she is today.
Dead Man on the Run
1975-04-02
A government agent who is investigating a colleague's murder discovers a conspiracy to cover up a po
Robbers' Roost
1955-05-30
Jim "Tex" Wall, searching for the last of the three men who raped and killed his wife, joins a gang
A Stranger in My Arms
1959-03-03
An Air Force pilot finds romance with his war buddy's widow.
SST: Death Flight
1978-04-23
On its maiden flight, the crew of America's first supersonic transport learns that it may not be abl
Death Car on the Freeway
1979-09-24
A determined TV reporter is out to find a maniac who is methodically attacking lone women drivers on
Texas Across the River
1966-10-26
The Louisiana wedding of debutante Phoebe Ann Naylor to Don Andrea de Baldasar, El Duce de la Casala
Mystery Reel
2022-08-19
A look into the subconscious of the 20th century.
East of Sumatra
1953-08-26
Duke Mullane, manager of a Malayan tin mine, goes to a little-known island to open a new mine in the
Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square Featuring Audra McDonald and Peter Graves
2005-09-15
Four-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald and veteran movie and television star Peter Graves join w
Addams Family Values
1993-11-19
Siblings Wednesday and Pugsley Addams will stop at nothing to get rid of Pubert, the new baby boy ad
Steve Martin: Comedy Is Not Pretty
1980-02-14
Steve Martin's second NBC special was made up entirely of sketches. Highlights include: Marty Robbin
The Congregation
1952-01-01
Religious film starring a just starting out Peter Graves was produced by the Protestant Film Commiss
The Raid
1954-08-04
A group of confederate prisoners escape to Canada and plan to rob the banks and set fire to the smal
America on the Move 1876-2000
2003-11-29
Two complete documentaries exploring more than a century of invention innovation transportation and
The Rebels
1979-05-14
This sequel to "The Bastard" continues the saga of Philip Kent, the illegitimate son of an English n
The Assassination Bureau
1969-03-09
In 1908 London, a women's rights campaigner discovers the Assassination Bureau Limited, an organizat
Behind the Legend: Timon
2004-02-10
A look at Timon
House on Haunted Hill
1999-10-29
An amusement park mogul offers a random group of diverse people $1 million to spend the night in a d
Valley of Mystery
1967-09-29
A Meridian Airlines flight from Miami to Caracas crashes in the Venezuelan jungle, stranding 130 pas
Angels in the Outfield
1951-10-19
The short-tempered manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates mends his ways in return for a little divine as
Race for Survival
1978-03-05
When a game warden crashes in East Africa, his greyhound goes for help, only to find unexpected assi
The Unexplained: Witches, Werewolves & Vampires
1994-10-23
Hosted by Peter Graves, this documentary questions the myths and facts about witches, werewolves, an
High Seas Hijack
1977-10-20
Terrorists hijack an oil tanker and threaten to blow it up unless Japan meets their demands.
Number One with a Bullet
1987-02-27
A pair of detectives are assigned to investigate a murder, and discover a trail of corruption and cr
Sergeant Ryker
1968-02-01
During the Korean War Sergeant Paul Ryker is accused of defecting to Communist China and then return
The President's Plane Is Missing
1973-10-23
When the President's plane mysteriously disappears with him on board, it is left to the seemingly we
Marilyn Monroe: The Mortal Goddess
1994-10-17
An account of the life and career of Marilyn Monroe, one of Hollywood's most famous and glamorous mo
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
2003-11-14
Fed up with all the attention going to Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck quits Hollywood, teams up with recentl
Jerry Lewis: The Last American Clown
1996-08-18
Jerry Lewis biography
Gene Tierney: A Shattered Portrait
1999-03-26
A&E Biography about life and times of the beautiful actress of the '40s and feature interview of
The Memory of Eva Ryker
1980-05-05
A young woman has spent her life tormented by the death of her mother, who was on a ship torpedoed d
Mother Teresa: A Life of Devotion
1997-01-01
This poignant portrait is highlighted by talks with those who knew and worked with Mother Teresa --
Men in Black II
2002-07-03
Kay and Jay reunite to provide our best, last and only line of defense against a sinister seductress
Charlie Chaplin: A Tramp's Life
1998-05-10
A biographical documentary about the great British actor and director Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977), f
Call to Danger
1973-02-27
A federal agent recruits a computer whiz to try to free a Mafia witness who has been kidnapped and h
The Guns and the Fury
1983-12-12
Two turn of the Century fortune hunters (Peter Graves and Cameron Mitchell) discover oil in Persia a
300 Miles for Stephanie
1981-01-12
A San Antonio cop, as an act of faith, vows to run more than 300 miles in five days, hoping his crit
Gallegher Goes West
1966-10-30
In Part 1, Gallegher befriends a man on the stagecoach while heading west, only to discover he is a
The Adventurers
1970-03-25
The wealthy playboy son of an assassinated South American diplomat discovers that his father was mur
Mission: Impossible vs. the Mob
1969-12-01
Jim Phelps leads the IMF on an assignment to destroy a criminal empire headed by Frank Wayne.
The Underground Man
1974-05-06
A private detective goes after the kidnappers of his ex-girlfriend's son and becomes involved in a s
Abbott & Costello Meet Biography
1996-04-29
A biography of comedian double act Bud Abbott & Lou Costello
Gettysburg - An American Story
2014-10-24
The 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment fought bravely and gallantly during the Civil War. The
William Shakespeare: A Life of Drama
1996-08-16
William Shakespeare's life produced an unmatched legacy of drama and poetry. But the Bard's own stor
The Demon Lover
1986-06-21
When young Kathleen makes a promise to Keith Cameron during World War One, that no matter what happe
Darkstar: Terror at The Edge of Time
With the destruction of planet Earth imminent, four spaceships are deployed with an impossible missi
Aliens from Space
A group of extra-terrestrials determined to take over the earth and make it their new home, station
Jean Harlow: Platinum Bombshell
1996-05-20
Short documentary about Jean Harlow's life and career. Episode of A&E's Biography series.
Shirley Temple: The Biggest Little Star
1996-12-08
Mission: Impossible - The Slave
1967-10-08
The Impossible Missions Force takes on the absolute ruler of a Middle East nation who is running a s
Mission: Impossible - The Bunker
1969-03-02
Dr. Erich Rojak, a brilliant scientist, is being held in an underground bunker containing a laborato
Mission: Impossible - The Controllers
1969-10-12
An Eastern Bloc nation is trying to develop a mind-controlling drug, a project led by Dr. Karl Turek
Mission: Impossible - The Falcon
1970-01-04
Prince Stephan's death has been faked by General Sabattini; leaving Stephan's childlike cousin Nicol
Mission: Impossible - The Golden Serpent
1989-09-21
Jim Phelps and his team of agents get the mission to destroy a South East Asian drug smuggling organ
Under the Law: Arrest and Seize
1973-01-01
The second of three educational films made by Philip Abbott. A Nelson Company Production for Nationa