Overview
Peter Graves
Known For
Gettysburg - An American Story
The 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment fought bravely and gallantly...
Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square Featuring Audra McDonald and Peter Graves
Four-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald and veteran movie and...
America on the Move 1876-2000
Two complete documentaries exploring more than a century of invention...
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.