Peter Graves Bio.
Peter Graves was a known American actor who portrayed Jim Phelps in the CBS television series Mission: Impossible from 1967 to 1973 and its revival from 1988 to 1990. His elder brother was Gunsmoke actor James Arness.
He was born Peter Duesler Aurness on March 18, 1926, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
FUN FACT.
He was a saxophonist who excelled in sports and music while growing up in Minnesota.
By the time he was 16, he was a radio announcer at WMIN in Minneapolis.
After serving for two years in the US Army Air Force, he went to the University of Minnesota to study drama before moving to Hollywood, where he first made an appearance on television before making his feature film debut in Rogue River (1951).
Peter Graves Net Worth.
Peter Graves was an American actor who had an estimated net worth of between $ 8 and $ 10 million dollars at the time of his death in 2010.
Graves had managed to amass a substantial amount of wealth as an ex-US army and through his lucrative career as an actor.
Though Graves was wealthy, he chose to live a modest lifestyle.
Peter Graves Wiki.
- Date Of Birth: March 18, 1926.
- Date Of Death: March 14, 2010.
- Age: 83 years at death.
- Zodiac: Pisces.
- Real Name: Peter Duesler Aurness.
- Nickname: Peter Graves.
- Place Of Birth: Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Social Media.
- Documentary: Peter Graves.
Background Information.
- High School: Southwest High School.
- College: University of Minnesota.
- Hobbies:
- Wife: Joan Endress Graves.
- Children: Amanda, Kelly, and Claudia.
- Father: Rolf Cirkler Aurness (1894–1982)
- Mother: Journalist Ruth (who died in 1986)
- Siblings/Brothers/Sisters: James Arness.
- Nationality: American.
Career.
- Occupation: Ex-US Army Air Forces, Actor.
- Achievements and Awards: World War II Victory Medal and the American Campaign Medal.
- Salary: N/A.
- Net Worth: between $ 8 and $ 10 million dollars.
Body Measurements.
- Height: 1.92 meters.
- Weight: 75 kg.
- Eye Colour: N/A.
- Hair Colour: N/A.
- Shoe Size: N/A.
Peter Graves Height and Weight.
Graves stood at an average height of 1.92 meters and weighed 75 kg.
Peter Graves Cause Of Death.
Four days before his 84th birthday, on March 14, 2010, Graves had a heart attack after returning from brunch.
Peter Graves Obituary.
Before his death in 2010, Graves was admitted to Tahoe Forest Hospital on March 6, 1984, for a fractured jaw and other wounds he had received following a fall on an icy Lake Tahoe road the weekend before. During his hospitalization, he had 100 stitches in his bottom lip.
After the treatment Graves’s health was normal and he continued to go about his daily activities as usual till March 14, 2010, when he had a heart attack after returning home from brunch and passed away four days before his 84th birthday.
Grave was succeeded by his Wife Joan Endress Graves and daughters Amanda, Kelly, and Claudia.
Peter Graves Career.
Throughout the course of his career, Graves made appearances in more than 70 movies, TV series, and television movies.
He played a significant part in the 1953 World War II movie Stalag 17. As Jim Newton, a rancher, and adoptive single parent on the NBC television series Fury, Graves debuted there in 1955.
Graves acted in the early 1980s comedies Airplane as Captain Clarence Oveur after primarily performing serious roles in the 1970s. and Airplane II: The Sequel.
In 1988, a Hollywood writers’ strike led to the commissioning of a brand-new Mission: Impossible series. Only Graves, who reprised his role as Jim Phelps, was a regular cast member from the first season; the others merely made cameos.
After Jim Phelps was revealed to be a traitor and the movie’s villain in the initial Mission: Impossible theatrical release in 1996, Graves declined to reprise the role.
The decision to have Phelps kill three other IMF agents in the movie and then perish in a helicopter accident at the end outraged Graves and the other cast members, as well as many fans of the original series.
Graves received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6667 Hollywood Boulevard on October 30, 2009.
Peter Graves Movies.
- Stalag 17
- Fury.
- Whiplash.
- Court Martial
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
- Cimarron City.
- Route 66.
- The Invaders.
- Mission: Impossible.
- ABC miniseries The Winds of War among others.
Peter Graves Wife and Kids.
Registered as a Republican, Graves was married to Joan Endress Graves for 60 years from 1950 until his death.
Graves and his wife Joan had three daughters: Amanda, Kelly, and Claudia.
Peter Graves’s Parents and Siblings.
Born Peter Duesler Aurness on March 18, 1926, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
His parents were businessmen Rolf Cirkler Aurness (1894–1982) and journalist Ruth (who died in 1986). Graves had Norwegian, German, and English ancestry.
In order to respect his mother’s family and to avoid confusion with his older brother James Arness, the star of the television series Gunsmoke, he went by the stage name Graves.
Peter Graves Brother: James Arness.
James King Aurness, who was born on May 26, 1923, and passed away on June 3, 2011, was an American actor best known for his 20-year role as Marshal Matt Dillon in the CBS television series Gunsmoke.
Arness holds the distinction of having performed Dillon’s part for fifty years.
James was the older brother of actor Peter Graves.
How Did James Arness Die?
Arness, 88, died of natural causes at his Brentwood home in Los Angeles on June 3, 2011. His bones were interred in the Sanctuary of Abiding Hope alcove in the Jasmine Terrace portion of Glendale, California’s Forest Lawn Memorial Park’s Grand Mausoleum.
James Arness Salary and Net Worth.
In the early seasons of Gunsmoke, James Arness made $1,200 per episode while portraying Marshal Matt Dillon.
At the time of his passing, his net worth was estimated to be $8 million.
James has become wealthy thanks to his successful career as a well-known actor.
Peter Graves Education.
In 1944, Graves earned his high school diploma from Southwest.
He served in the US Army Air Forces from 1944 to 1945, attained the rank of corporal, and was given the World War II Victory Medal and the American Campaign Medal.
Upon his demobilization, Graves joined the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity at the University of Minnesota using the G.I. Bill.