Tribute: Peter Graves
Posted on March 15, 2010 at 10:13 am
Peter Graves had the square jaw and deep voice of a leading man. His gray hair gave him an aura of, well, gravitas that made him the perfect choice for the head of the Mission: Impossible team in one of the biggest hits of 1960’s television. And it made him the perfect choice to spoof that image of power and authority in Airplane!
. The younger brother of “Gunsmoke’s” James Arness, Graves appeared in shlock horror films like “Killers from Space” and “It Conquered the World” and in a memorable role as prisoner of war with something to hide in the Oscar-winning “Stalag 17.” But like his brother, he found his place in a popular television series. And he had a sense of humor about himself, as shown in this charming GEICO commercial. He will be missed.
Thanks for this tribute, Nell. I was thinking about showing “Stalag 17” to my movie club, and this may clinch it. Peter Graves had a very long and distinguished career, however, “Joey, have you ever seen a grown man naked?” will go down in history as one of the all-time funny movie lines.
Mission Impossible! (the TV version, not movie). Who can forget the music and his role in it? Good memories.
An FYI to your readers: The link to the DVD for Mission: Impossible is for the first season, which featured “Law & Order”‘s Steven Hill as the team leader. Worthwhile, but no Peter Graves – he replaced Hill in the second season.
Thanks, Kevin! I will fix it.