Posted on 03/14/2010 7:31:00 PM PDT by Brandonmark
Peter Graves, the cool spymaster of television’s “Mission Impossible” and the dignified host of the “Biography” series, who successfully spoofed his own gravitas in the “Airplane” movie farces, died Sunday. He was 83.
He died of a heart attack at his home in Pacific Palisades, Calif., said Fred Barman, his business manager.
It was a testament to Mr. Graves’s earnest, unhammy ability to make fun of himself that after decades of playing square he-men and straitlaced authority figures, he was perhaps best known to younger audiences for a deadpan line in “Airplane!” (“Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?”) and one from a memorable Geico car insurance commercial (“I was one lucky woman”).
Born Peter Aurness in Minneapolis, the blond, 6-foot-2 Mr. Graves served in the Army Air Force in 1944-45, studied drama at the University of Minnesota under the G.I. Bill and played the clarinet in local bands before following his older brother, James Arness, to Hollywood
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
The AandE Network surprised Peter, their host, with a biography of himself. He was floored and very humbled at the honor.
This was near the end of his tenure on the show.
One of the funniest lines ever in a movie.
From “Airplane”:
Rumack: Can you fly this plane, and land it?
Ted Striker: Surely you can’t be serious.
Rumack: I am serious... and don’t call me Shirley....
At 83, not a bad stretch.
May he rest in peace.
What a great movie.
I know Hollywood frowns on these movies think Blazing Saddles,but my kids will know who Peter is and get a laugh for years to come..
RIP. Peter .
Gone but not forgotten..
He was always such a serious actor I'll never forget how shocked I was at that bit....gonna miss him.
Surely you can’t be serious!
i cannot believe i didn't know they were brothers!
Guess that just leaves “Matt Dillon”, James Arness now.
He was Graves’ brother.
Awww, this is sad. Rest in peace, Mr. Graves...
Lots of happy memories of his work.
Thanks and RIP sir.
NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!
RIP
He was a good actor and a gentleman.....a fine tribute, indeed.
Leni
R.I.P.
...but some of you on this thread are remembering Leslie Neilsen.
Before MI, there was “Fury” (the story of a horse and the boy who loved him).
I remember him as the father in the show “Fury”.
I knew he and Arness were Brothers but for some reason I always thought he was the older one.
Either way, I have heard they both were unusually decent guys especially for Hollywood.
RIP, Mister Graves.
“absolute perfection in Airplane. He, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges and yes, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, took us from one “I can’t believe he’s saying that” moment to another.”
I agree, but what is truly amazing is that Airplane was actually based on a serious movie from I think the late 50’s called “Zero Hour”. The storyline is absolutely identical, and even many of the lines are the same. It’s just that the Airplane producers dead-panned the lines to make them funny, and added a lot of other funny stuff. Turner Classics just showed both movies back to back a week ago, or I would never have known this.
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