- Ralph Taeger, Hondo, TV, 1967. John Wayne thought that his 1953 Western hero Hondo Lane could become another Gunsmoke – the most successful of the 30 or more Western series vying for attention during the 50s-80s. Duke had discovered the Gunsmoke star, James Arness (he had a good role in Hondo) , and offered the series to his kid brother, Peter Graves. He preferred to take over as the Mission: Impossible chief from Steven Hill just as Taeger began 17 episodes as Hondo, now an ex-Confederate officer, no longer Duke’s US Cavalry dispatch rider.
- Jon Voight, Mission: Impossible, 1995. Paramount asked the old IMF chief to to play Jim Phelps once more. Peter Graves fled after reading the script and finding Phelps was treated negatively and knocked off at the end. (Immediately, two other old IMF agents, Martin Landau and Greg Morris, backed out of cameos). Michael Douglas, Al Pacino and Robert Redford apparently agreed with Graves and refused the father figure leader.
Birth year: 1926Death year: 2010Other name: Casting Calls: 2