Peter Graves, 8th Baron Graves

Peter George Wellesley Graves, 8th Baron Graves (21 October 1911 - 6 June 1994), was a British actor.

Born in London, Graves was the son of Henry Algernon Claude Graves, 7th Baron Graves. Admiral Thomas Graves, 1st Baron Graves, was his great-great-great-grandfather. He was educated at Harrow.

Known during his acting career as Peter Graves, he specialised in light comedies and musicals, often cast as dapper young men about town. His career peaked in the mid to late 1940s, beginning with the films of director/writer Val Guest, including "Miss London Ltd" (1943) and "Bees in Paradise" (1944), opposite Arthur Askey; and "Give Us the Moon" (1944) and "I'll Be Your Sweetheart" (1945), opposite Margaret Lockwood. Other roles included the lead in "Spring Song" (1946), and George IV in both "The Laughing Lady" (1946) and "Mrs. Fitzherbert" (1947).

He also appeared in a number of films by Herbert Wilcox, such as popular musicals "Spring in Park Lane" (1948) and "Maytime in Mayfair" (1949), both vehicles for Anna Neagle and Michael Wilding. He also essayed another royal, Prince Albert in Wilcox's "The Lady with the Lamp" (1951) and "Lilacs in the Spring" (1954).

He re-emerged in the 1960s as a popular comic supporting player in number of films, including "Alfie" (1966); "The Wrong Box" (1966); "The Jokers" (1967); "I'll Never Forget What's'isname" (1967); "The Assassination Bureau" (1968); and "The Magic Christian" (1969). Kept acting until a few years before his death, mostly on television.

In 1963 he succeeded his father as eighth Baron Graves. However, as this was an Irish peerage it did not entitle him to a seat in the House of Lords.

He married Winifred Ruby Moule (Vanessa Lee), on 28 May 1960. He was widowed in 1992, and died childless on June 6, 1994 in France, of a heart attack. He was succeeded in the barony by his second cousin Evelyn Paget Graves.

External links

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References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). "Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage" (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
* [http://www.angeltowns.com/town/peerage/ Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page]