Comments on: "Joey, do you like movies about Gladiators?"

"Joey, do you like movies about Gladiators?"

zardoz — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:09:55 -0800

"Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?" Veteran actor Peter Graves--who was the star of the original Mission Impossible TV series, most famously (for some of us) played Capt. Oveur in Airplane!, and was the Emmy-winning host of Biography--has died of natural causes. He was 83.

By: exlotuseater

exlotuseater — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:10:42 -0800

Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?

By: heyho

heyho — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:11:32 -0800

Have you ever seen an grown man naked?

By: lukemeister

lukemeister — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:11:57 -0800

. even though I have a son named Joey

By: yhbc

yhbc — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:12:56 -0800

It's over, Oveur.

By: Madamina

Madamina — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:14:13 -0800

Roger, Roger. What's our vector, Victor? .

By: dealing away

dealing away — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:17:21 -0800

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:18:41 -0800

As a Minnesota native, I think you mean "Minnesota-native" Peter Graves. Nobody could save the planet from oversized insects like the Arness brothers. They will be missed. Especially when the giant insects take over.

By: tracicle

tracicle — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:19:40 -0800

I just wanted to say good luck, we're all counting on you. .

By: darkstar

darkstar — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:20:49 -0800

Jim Phelps was one of my childhood heroes (yes, seriously). The worst thing about the Cruise remakes of Mission: IMPOSSIBLE was that they turned Phelps into a villain. Simply inexcusable. . (Both for Peter Graves and for Mr. Phelps' reputation)

By: jabberjaw

jabberjaw — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:25:09 -0800

Peter Graves played a different kind of spy, a kind we don't have these days on TV and in movies. But he shouldn't have had the fish.

By: stargell

stargell — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:25:17 -0800

Before all the jokes, he was in one of the all-time best.

By: fatbird

fatbird — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:25:47 -0800

There's a special place in Heaven for actors like Graves, who can take their sober, serious gravitas and use it to create comedy by asking a young boy "Do you like it when Scraps grabs your leg and rubs up and down?"

By: strangememes

strangememes — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:26:51 -0800

By: dr_dank

dr_dank — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:27:42 -0800

Surely, they're not serious?

By: George_Spiggott

George_Spiggott — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:27:46 -0800

Hope the first person to read his will has a perfect memory, because it'll self-destruct five seconds later. .

By: Cyrano

Cyrano — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:30:07 -0800

Peter Graves Goes To College

By: Solon and Thanks

Solon and Thanks — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:30:30 -0800

✈

By: otolith

otolith — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:32:38 -0800

I just wanted to say good luck, we're all counting on you. .

By: lalex

lalex — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:35:07 -0800

oh crap, I guess I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue. .

By: scottMontgomery

scottMontgomery — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:35:24 -0800

and stop calling me Shirley

By: nathancaswell

nathancaswell — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:38:12 -0800

Well I can make a hat, or a brooch...

By: oinopaponton

oinopaponton — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:39:02 -0800

Aw, man. .

By: nathancaswell

nathancaswell — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:39:08 -0800

Oh, it's a big pretty white plane with red stripes, curtains in the windows and wheels and it looks like a big Tylenol.

By: Pope Guilty

Pope Guilty — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:39:12 -0800

If this thread can convince at least one person out there that Peter Graves went to the University of Minnesota, then it's done its job. .

By: Damn That Television

Damn That Television — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:40:22 -0800

Peter Graves is getting the "A-list celebrity death" treatment in the various blogs. AND LEON'S GETTING LARRRRRGERRRRRRRR

By: sourwookie

sourwookie — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:42:33 -0800

No worries. We can Always make another!

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:45:39 -0800

I just wanted to say good luck, we're all counting on you.

By: Kevin Street

Kevin Street — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:48:31 -0800

By: chinston

chinston — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:49:40 -0800

He learned, almost too late, that man is a feeling creature and, because of it, the greatest in the universe.

By: rtha

rtha — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:50:43 -0800

By: cerebus19

cerebus19 — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:53:11 -0800

By: John Kenneth Fisher

John Kenneth Fisher — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:04:40 -0800

The secretary is now disavowing all knowledge of his actions. . (Airplane? please. The man is and always will be Jim Phelps, the greatest agent the IMF ever deployed.)

By: reductiondesign

reductiondesign — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:05:19 -0800

By: doctor_negative

doctor_negative — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:26:59 -0800

By: Pronoiac

Pronoiac — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:32:38 -0800

By: maxwelton

maxwelton — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:41:40 -0800

After years of thinking about it, I guess it's now too late to tell him, yes, I do kinda like gladiator movies.

By: MrVisible

MrVisible — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:01:44 -0800

"They sense I'm Peter Graves." .

By: PHINC

PHINC — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:08:21 -0800

He was also in Night of the Hunter.

By: prinado

prinado — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:13:22 -0800

As a kid, I knew Graves as Major Noah Cooper, commander of the Fighting 69th Earth/Space Marine Squadron on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. So for my first 20 viewings of Airplane, Graves' comedic genius was his ability to deadpan Oveur as Major Cooper as James Phelps (Mission Impossible). His delivery is just so perfect. This is all by design, of course. It was really quite brilliant of "ZAZ" to cast Graves with Robert Stack, Leslie Nielsen, and Lloyd Bridges -- all hyper-refined/versatile/consistent actors. But it's Graves' delivery that floors me to this day. As David Zucker said of the cast, "these were people, who up to that time, had never done comedy. We thought they were much funnier than the comedians of that time were." Onward and upward, Major Cooper. Oh, and this.

By: somnambulist

somnambulist — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:23:30 -0800

By: Rat Spatula

Rat Spatula — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:27:18 -0800

So, you're saying that gold is long, and thin, like.... Kareem Abdul-Jabbar!

By: ooga_booga

ooga_booga — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:29:51 -0800

Oh man. I remember rushing out after dinner to catch reruns of Mission: Impossible when I was in grade school. The theme and the opening sequence will always bring to mind a picture of Peter Graves - the embodiment of the cool, professional secret agent and, to my young eye, a more compelling character than the campy Bond played by Roger Moore. When I finally watched Airplane! years later in college, seeing Graves as Captain Oveur cemented his place in my pantheon of favorites. I'm sorry to see him pass, but I'm glad it's not due to some scandalous drug overdose or wasting disease. I'm just hoping he didn't have the fish. .

By: azpenguin

azpenguin — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:39:43 -0800

A few years back on the Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio, they somehow got off onto an Airplane! non-sequitir. One thing leads to another, and they managed to get Peter Graves on the phone. Graves said that at first he absolutely refused to do the movie, but that he was talked into it after a while. He was certain that it was going to be a black mark on his career. The big night comes for the premiere in front of a bunch of Hollywood muckity mucks, and it's not long at all before they're rolling in the aisles laughing.

By: PHINC

PHINC — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:03:44 -0800

Peter Graves in Night of the Hunter.

By: gcbv

gcbv — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:06:30 -0800

By: queensissy

queensissy — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:11:58 -0800

If I missed the first five minutes of Mission Impossible, I had no idea what was going on. I still watched it. .

By: bicyclefish

bicyclefish — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:25:56 -0800

Now that was a movie trailer...

By: juv3nal

juv3nal — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:50:16 -0800

By: Joey Michaels

Joey Michaels — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:50:47 -0800

I loved Mission Impossible growing up and I'm still ticked off that they made Phelps a villain in the movies. Graves was one of the first actors whose name I actually remembered. .

By: Joey Michaels

Joey Michaels — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:51:25 -0800

Also, I do like movies about Gladiators. Why?

By: slimepuppy

slimepuppy — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:52:36 -0800

By: JHarris

JHarris — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:59:46 -0800

Three MST3K videos so far, and I'm sure there will be more to come. ...on A&E's Biography. .

By: Smart Dalek

Smart Dalek — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:00:10 -0800

One last song for the folks.

By: Sphinx

Sphinx — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:10:43 -0800

. Wow, I have an aunt who went to Washburn with him, and I was lucky enough to run into to him once at the MSP luggage carousel after a harried trans-atlantic flight.

By: Feisty

Feisty — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:18:38 -0800

By: pracowity

pracowity — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:20:09 -0800

I was lucky enough to run into to him once at the MSP luggage carousel after a harried trans-atlantic flight. He was the pilot?

By: bwg

bwg — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:43:27 -0800

The question is: where will be Peter's grave? .

By: WolfDaddy

WolfDaddy — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:50:14 -0800

Me: Peter Graves died today. Friend: Really? From what? Me: I can't tell. Friend: You can tell me, I'm your friend. Me: No, I mean I'm just not sure. .

By: DU

DU — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:02:29 -0800

Can you direct me to the natatorium? I'm Peter Graves. .

By: hal9k

hal9k — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:18:20 -0800

Good evening, Mr. Phelps. .

By: hal9k

hal9k — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:20:45 -0800

The poison goes to work on the central nervous system, causing severe muscle spasms followed by the inevitable drooling. At this point, the entire digestive system collapses accompanied by uncontrollable flatulence. Until finally, the poor bastard is reduced to a quivering wasted piece of jelly.

By: Hastur

Hastur — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:14:32 -0800

By: pmurray63

pmurray63 — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:29:08 -0800

He was perfectly cast in Stalag 17, too.

By: waraw

waraw — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 05:05:27 -0800

In 2008 Mr. Graves along with Leslie Nielsen, Robert Hayes, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and Leslie Neilsen reunited on the Today Show to discuss airplane.

By: Splunge

Splunge — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 05:35:40 -0800

He had me from Killers From Space. .

By: Thorzdad

Thorzdad — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 05:41:58 -0800

Perhaps the greatest against-type performances evar. Sad to see him go. .

By: Pollomacho

Pollomacho — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 05:47:55 -0800

Now who will narrate my "documentary" on the alien connection to the JFK assassination?!? Seriously, sorry to the Graves family.

By: jquinby

jquinby — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:48:19 -0800

By: Mr. Bad Example

Mr. Bad Example — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:50:43 -0800

I'd give you my impression of Peter Graves, but unfortunately, I don't do impressions. My training's in psychiatry. .

By: CitizenD

CitizenD — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:57:27 -0800

By: The Winsome Parker Lewis

The Winsome Parker Lewis — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:22:49 -0800

I haven't seen anything like this since the Anita Bryant concert.

By: mike3k

mike3k — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:35:08 -0800

By: condour75

condour75 — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:54:31 -0800

By: pointystick

pointystick — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:05:52 -0800

In his honor I think I will make a hat, or a brooch, or a pterodactyl. .

By: mistersquid

mistersquid — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:08:34 -0800

By: Fuzzy Monster

Fuzzy Monster — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:04:46 -0800

By: Mister_A

Mister_A — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:18:49 -0800

By: digsrus

digsrus — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:36:10 -0800

It's amazing that he had such a spectacular career with such a terrible memory. As you may recall, every week on Mission Impossible he would have to flip through portfolio pictures of potential team members because he evidently couldn't remember what they looked like.

By: wenestvedt

wenestvedt — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:51:26 -0800

Good for him for appreciating and embracing the whole new direction his career took after that first "Airplane!" movie. As another son of Minnesota, I am proud he's one of ours.

By: davidmsc

davidmsc — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:02:45 -0800

Not too familiar with anything except M:I and Airplane! - but that's all we really need to know, isn't it? Absolutely amazing. And I love all of you for the comments in this thread. Even typed, they make me laugh.

By: tommasz

tommasz — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:16:04 -0800

I haven't felt this awful since we saw that Ronald Reagan film. .

By: lumpenprole

lumpenprole — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:30:57 -0800

Excuse me Mr, are you Peter Graves? Cuz I could use just a little direction.... .

By: tzikeh

tzikeh — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:02:44 -0800

He has the distinction of appearing in more movies used by MST3K than any other actor. And also being brilliant in Stalag 17, but whatever. Who will narrate the Peter Graves episode of Biography? . (Or, for his role as Captain Oveur, ! )

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:15:38 -0800

Who will narrate the Peter Graves episode of Biography? He did.

By: yiftach

yiftach — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:11:23 -0800

I just spent an inordinate amount of time putting this together, gaving utterly failed to thoroughly check yesterday's posts. I'll be damned if I'm letting it go to waste: He chose to accept it. March 15, 2010 12:03 PM Peter Graves has died, four days short of his 84th birthday. While still a teenager, he was a radio announcer in his native Minnesota. Eventually, he followed his older brother James Arness (of Gunsmoke fame) to Hollywood, and even starred in his own short-lived Western, Whiplash. His early film roles included turns in the eminently spoofable It Conquered The World as well as the critically acclaimed Stalag 17 & The Night of the Hunter.[more inside] Graves starred in the popular Mission: Impossible TV series in the late 60s-early 70s, playing Jim Phelps, the leader of a team of undercover US government agents sent on assignment all over the world. He became a star all over again in 1980 when he spoofed his own suave tough guy image as Captain Clarence Oveur in Airplane!, and reprised his role in Airplane II: The Sequel. (He even spoofed the spoof years later with AirTran's Internetiquette videos.) He then went on to host the long-running television series Biography, and was honored with his own episode in 1997. Graves had been married to Joan Endress since 1950, and they had three daughters.

By: yiftach

yiftach — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:36:03 -0800

And also having utterly failed to spellcheck my opening.

By: brundlefly

brundlefly — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:40:48 -0800

By: dyslexictraveler

dyslexictraveler — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:54:07 -0800

By: kuppajava

kuppajava — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:50:24 -0800

I've always loved his voice, and the steely determination and smarts of Jim Phelps. I constantly quote his best lines from Airplane, and proud he was also from my home state. He'll be missed ... until the next rerun of Mission: Impossible .

By: SPrintF

SPrintF — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:08:04 -0800

Am I the only one who remembers him from The Beginning of the End (giant grasshoppers) and It Conquered the World (weird alien mushroom)? Ah, "The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones."

By: SPrintF

SPrintF — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:14:19 -0800

Oh, Lord, no! I'm now having flashbacks to Saturday afternoons with Moona Lisa on Science Fiction Theater! "Hello, earthlings!"

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:04:07 -0800

aww, I'm sad he died. I really liked him. Something likably gentle about his demeanor and voice, which conveyed a quietly considerate and good man. Enjoyed him in the TV series, Fury, and especially as Jim Phelps. Condolences to his wife, three daughters and six grandchildren.

By: Goofyy

Goofyy — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:24:28 -0800

Interesting. As Joey Michaels said above, Peter Graves was, for me also, one of the first actors whose name I remembered as a kid. But I tie it in to my father working for Allstate, who sponsored M:I (at least a season), and made a big deal about it to their own employees. Dad had some promo material he brought home. He did good, he got old, and he died. He left behind lots of good memories. .