Peter Graves Dies

Actor Peter Graves was found dead in his California home today. It is being reported that he had a heart attack.

He would have been 84 on Thursday.

Graves had a long career in films and television. TV viewers knew him in his role on Mission: Impossible, which ran for seven years, and as the narrator of the Biography series. Movie fans remember his performances in "Stalag 17" and, nearly 30 years later, "Airplane!"

Graves brought a sincere quality, an earnestness, to every role he played. It was that very characteristic that made his performances in "Airplane!" and its sequel so memorable.

I don't know how many times I've seen "Airplane!" but I still laugh when Graves asks Joey, "You ever … seen a grown man naked?"

He is gone now, but we can still enjoy his performances.