Scoop is saddened to report the passing of actor Peter Graves. Different generations knew him as Jim Phelps from Mission: Impossible, Captain Oveur from Airplane, and the voice of A&E’s Biography.

Graves, who was 83, would have turned 84 soon. He was the brother of fellow actor James Arness.

“Tall and commanding, Graves was known for his calm and confident air in front of a camera. Born in Minneapolis, Minn. in 1926, he launched his film career in the movie Rogue River (1951) before making a name for himself in Westerns,” The Wall Street Journal said.

In 1953’s Stalag 17, he played an English-speaking German agent put in with the prisoners of war to spy on them, and frequently landed other straight-laced, dramatic roles.

“During his nearly 60-year Hollywood career, Graves appeared in more than 130 movies and television shows,” Agency France Press reported. “But he rose to the pinnacle of his career in 1967, when he became lead actor on Mission: Impossible, where he played Jim Phelps, the leader of the Impossible Missions Force, or IMF, for six seasons of the series.” He also reprised the role from 1988 to 1990 for a later version of the show.

In 1980, he stood his dramatic reputation on its head with his performance in the comedy Airplane, a send-up of the disaster movies of the 1970s. Along with fellow dramatic actors Leslie Nielson, Robert Stack, and Lloyd Bridges, Graves delivered a knock-out, straight performance in what turned out to be an iconic comedy.

In the 1990s, he became the voice of A&E Channel’s Biography program, as well as continuing to act. He most recent work included an episode of House and a recurring role on 7th Heaven.

According to The Los Angele Times, Graves had just returned from brunch with his family to celebrate his upcoming 84th birthday.

He is survived by his wife, Joan, three daughters and six grandchildren.