PETER GRAVES - MISSION IMPOSSIBLE STAR HAS PASSED AWAY MARCH 14, 2010

   MISSION IMPOSSIBLE - PETER GRAVES PASSED AWAY MAR 14, 2010

Four days before his 84th birthday, Mr. Peter Graves has passed away. He will be missed.

I was a big fan of Mission Impossible and when I had the opportunity to meet Mr Graves, I jumped at the chance. I met him in Florida, a few years ago, during a hot summer day. I had a short conversation with him and I asked him to sign a few items. He was happy to do it. He loved his fans, and he was happy to meet someone who enjoyed his work. It was irrelevant that it was something that he had done decades earlier.

I had a Mission Impossible model car box and he was willing to sign the box for me. He told me, "it had been a long time since, I have seen one of these." He thought it was a cool toy. I also had a lobby card from Airplane 2. The photo shows him in the cockpit of the plane, when his character is asking the boy if he liked Gladiator movies. I could tell he loved making that movie. With pride, he showed the Airplane 2 lobby card, to the people that he was with. 

I also asked him about his brother, James Arness. I was telling him that he should convince his brother to make appearances. Gunsmoke was a huge show and people loved James' portrayal of iconic Matt Dillon. Peter told me that because of his brother's bad health, it was unlikely that he would make any public appearances.

As a side note, I tracked down the young man who portrayed the boy in the cockpit scene, with Graves' character. I wanted him to sign the same lobby card that Peter Graves signed. His emailed response was a non-answer, answer. It would have been fun if those two had made an appearance together.

I should have asked Mr Graves how he liked the popular Mission Impossible movie. At the time, only one of the movies had come out. I personally disliked the movie storyline with Jim Phelps as a bad guy. Jim Phelps was the character that Peter Graves played on the TV show. I feel if you are going to make a movie based on an EXTREMELY popular TV show, you should RESPECT the characters and not destroy their image. Tom Cruise CLAIMED he was a fan, I don't believe it.

Below are photographs of the items that Mr Graves signed. 

FIRST AIRPLANE 2 LOBBY CARD


SECOND AIRPLANE 2 LOBBY CARD


MISSION IMPOSSIBLE MODEL BOX

Posted by Ron D at 3/14/2010 10:35 PM
Categories: Pop Culture, Classic Movie, TV Toys, Classic TV, toys
Tags: celebrity Pop Culture 1980s memorabilia TV memorabilia 1960s memorabilia TV Toys classic TV
 

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