You’d be hard-pressed to find a Hollywood pair of brothers quite like Peter Graves and Jim Arness. Their combined influence on television in the ’60s and ’70s made the twosome unmissable. Chances are, if you were flipping through the channels back then, you would have caught one — if not, both — brothers on your screen.
Born Peter and James Aurness, the brothers had different paths, but both were hugely successful. James, the older brother, was drafted into the United States Army during World War II in 1943. Because his frame prohibited his wishes of being a fighter pilot, James instead reported as a rifleman to Fort Snelling, before being deployed to Italy in January of ’44.
Meanwhile, younger brother Peter was in his senior year at Minneapolis’ South West High School. Upon graduation, it was Peter who served in the Air Force, reaching the rank of Corporal before demobilization in 1945. For his efforts, Peter was awarded the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal. When he returned stateside, Peter used the G.I. Bill to enroll at the University of Minnesota. He studied drama, capitalizing on his lifelong love of performing.
While Peter was studying, James was already entertaining audiences as a radio announcer on WLOL in the Twin Cities. So determined was he to make a career as an actor that the elder Aurness hitchhiked his way from the Midwest straight through to Hollywood.
As James was trying his hand in the movies, Peter was gaining experience through work at local theaters. When James signed a promising contract with RKO, the studio immediately changed his last name to “Arness,” dropping the “U” for good.
Shortly thereafter, Peter followed in his brother’s footsteps, seeking his fortune out West. He adopted the stage name “Graves” to distinguish himself from his brother, who, around that time, had found his breakthrough role in Gunsmoke.
Gunsmoke was already on the air for 10 years when Peter Graves starred in Mission: Impossible, but that doesn’t mean his family was any less excited. Instead, according to a 1976 interview in The Richmond Times, Graves and Arness both had equal support back home.
“My dad didn’t miss a single Gunsmoke or Mission: Impossible episode,” said Graves. “He would make sure his schedule never interfered with watching these two shows.”