Biography

A month after his 75th birthday on July 19, 2007 he broke his own weight-lifting endurance record of 76,280 pounds in 27 minutes that he had set in 2002 at age 70 by lifting 77,560 pounds in 24 minute and 50 seconds.

Wife Sharon is a fitness consultant. They met in the 1950s when she visited the gym that Peter owned in Indiana. They kept their marriage a secret for a time because of the voluminous fan mail from women he was receiving during his run on Mission: Impossible (1966).

Avid weightlifter; holds the Guinness world record for oldest person to bench-press over 300 pounds.

Bodybuilding titles: Mr. Indianapolis (1954), Mr. Indiana (1960), Mr. Hercules and the world title of Mr. International Health Physique

Lupus and Greg Morris were the only Mission: Impossible (1966) regular cast members to appear on the series throughout its entire run.

I want everyone to get fit and stay health, the second half of your life starts at 50. Will you be prepared to have the best time of your life like I'm having?

[on the 1996 'Mission: Impossible' film]:I thought it was fabulous, but what it turned into was a sort of James Bond, one man Mission Impossible.

[on Peter Graves]: He's a terrific guy. He was always on time, always knew his lines, and easy to be around.

[on the problem of using Steven Hill in the first season of 'Mission: Impossible'] It was in his contract that he had to leave at four o'clock and everybody knew it. It just so happened that day it was in the middle of a shot, and it was just chaos. So they kept trying to shoot around him to honor his contract, but they finally decided that they just couldn't live with it. On Fridays, we used to shoot until twelve or one o'clock in the morning and catch up for the week and he couldn't be there. So by the end of the first year, he kind of wanted to leave, and they kind of wanted him to leave, so they let him out of his contract, so he was happy.

[on his 'Mission Impossible' character Willy Armitage] Willy was a secret agent, but what they needed from him were certain feats of strength that you couldn't get from anyone else. It took strength to do certain things, and it helped make the mission successful.