Sunday, March 14, 2010

Peter Graves (1926-2010)

This has just come across the wires, but Hollywood has lost another TV icon.

Peter Graves was found dead in his home earlier today, 4 days shy of his 84th birthday. Graves will be best remembered as Jim Phelps, head of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF) on Mission: Impossible, joining the series after Steven Hill (ex-Law & Order) left the show. Graves would return when Mission was revived in the late 80's, and later served as a host of the Arts & Entertainment Network (A & E)'s revived Biography series.

Graves had starred in the children's series Fury long before signing on to do Mission: Impossible, and appeared in the 1980 movie "Airplane!". One of his last television appearances was just a few years ago in an ad for GEICO insurance, which, in hindsight, seemed to be a wee bit awkward in context. Mission had last aired around these parts on the Retro Television Network (RTV) about 2-3 years ago, and I am not certain of who holds the cable rights presently, but I'd expect it and Fury to be included in tribute marathons in short order.

Rest in peace, Peter.

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