Monday, March 15, 2010

Peter Graves Trubute

On March 14, 2010, a piece of my childhood left for a better place.

I'm talking about the great actor Peter Graves.

It's hard to put into words the effect that this man has had on me throughout my life. The number of TV shows and movies that he has been in that have been among my all time favorites is staggering.

Here are just a few of my personal favorites.

Mission Impossible
Beginning Of The End
Airplane
Airplane II
The Winds Of War
7th Heaven

Whatever he did, he did it with style...and what a voice.

I remember watching Mission Impossible when it first came on with Stephen Hill as Dan Briggs. He was okay. But I never really got into him.

Then Peter Graves took over the role as Jim Phelps and Mission Impossible became the show that we all came to love.

Graves WAS Jim Phelps and nobody could ever replace him.

And just when I thought he was only a serious actor, along he comes in Airplane and totally blows out the window on everything I ever thought about the man.

Could he be funny.

I always knew this day would eventually come, as it has with so many great stars from my childhood (I'm 52 as of this writing)

But this one hit me harder than most.

See, I grew up with Jim Phelps and Peter Graves. And with his passing, a piece of me is gone as well.

Below is a great compilation from Airplane that somebody put together that I know you're going to enjoy. It takes a while to load so be patient.



Peter my friend...Rest in piece.