Peter Graves Dies

Actor Peter Graves died today, Sunday, of heart attack outside his Los Angeles home, publicist Sandy Brokaw said. He was 83.

Peter Graves had a 60-year career in TV and movies. His played roles in movies like “The Long Gray Line”, “The Night of the Hunter,” “The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell,” “Texas Across the River” and “The Ballad of Josie.”

Graves won a Golden Globe for best TV actor for his portrayal of Jim Phelps in Mission Impossible in 1966. He played the leader of a gang of special agents who battled evil conspirators in the long-running television series.

Via Herald Sun:

Normally cast as a hero, he turned in an unforgettable performance early in his career as the treacherous Nazi spy in Billy Wilder’s 1953 prisoner-of-war drama Stalag 17.

He also masterfully lampooned his straight-arrow image when he portrayed bumbling airline pilot Clarence Oveur in the 1980 disaster movie spoof Airplane!, which was released in Australia as Flying High.

He was also nominated for a Golden Globe for best actor in 1969 and 1970.