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Peter Graves Has Died


applcin

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I'll always remember him for Biography, and for Mission Impossible. I'm sorry that this show, which was such an exciting and well cast show (Barbara Bain and Martin Landau -- when I watched reruns of this as a kid I thought they were so cool), was crapped on by those awful movies. Graves and his steeliness and calm reserves were a great backdrop for the show.

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Until recently I hadn't seen the series for years but then American Life Network started showing it and I was able to watch almost all of them. Rerun heaven. ;) And all those great guest stars, many of whom are gone now.

Most people don't realize or remember that Peter Graves came in the second season, replacing Steven Hill, who, because of his Orthodox Judaism, restricted the time that he could work.

And, being both a Leonard Nimoy and Martin Landau fan, I've always loved the double connection of those two--Landau turns down the role of Mr. Spock, which goes to Nimoy. Later, Landau quits MI and is replaced by Nimoy, who then becomes the "man of a thousand faces" character like Landau had been. (Note to JJ Abrams for Fringe--please create a guest spot for Martin Landau alongside Leonard Nimoy's "William Bell" so I can finally see these two actors work together!) ;)

I never saw the movies. Not a Tom Cruise fan and judging from what I've heard, blockbuster or not, I don't want to see the series or its characters crapped on. Besides, the series was just so good and the casting was great.

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RIP!!

I was a little nerd when I was a kid, so I totally watched Biography every night at 7 on A&E years ago, and so that's what I'll remember him for the most. M:I reruns come on our FOX affiliate's subchannel, but they've been stuck in the first season for so long. I think they started with Graves's episodes last weekend. I like it very much, very thrilling.

Of course, his brother is Gunsmoke's James Arness.

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Oh man :(

Mission: Impossible was one of my favourite series back in the day. Most remember the 60s-70s original, but there was also the late 80s remake (itself born of a writers' strike) that IMHO was one of the better remakes of a classic TV series- because it wasn't actually a remake at all, but a continuation of the series with Jim Phelps still head of the mission. At least the newer series stayed true to the original concept, albeit with more modern tweaks for the time, and far preferable to the Tom Cruise movies. I still have most episodes of it.

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A nice tribute from Martin Landau:

Martin Landau, who starred for years with Graves in the "Mission: Impossible" TV series, said in a statement: "Peter was one of the nicest people on the planet. Working with him for those years on 'Mission: Impossible' is among the fondest memories of my life. He was not only extremely talented, but also completely unselfish and always prepared. Peter possessed a great sense of humor, but what impressed me most about him was that I never heard him say a bad word about anyone he encountered. I'd like [wife] Joan and the family and to know my deepest love, thoughts and feelings are with them in this hour of bereavement."

My http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1633980/story.jhtml

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