Stage Before getting into film, McGraw was active in theatrical road companies.
Film McGraw made his first film in 1942 with a small, uncredited role in
The Undying Monster at Fox. He was in
Tonight We Raid Calais (1942) and
They Came to Blow Up America (1943) at the same studio, and also
Two Tickets to London (1943),
Destroyer (1943),
Corvette K-225 (1943),
The Mad Ghoul (1943),
The Impostor (1944), and
The Seventh Cross (1944). He frequently appeared as a lead actor in the
film noir genre during the late 1940s and early 1950s. He was particularly known for his vocal characteristics and physical appearance in the genre. play the titular roles in
The Killers (1946) His first notable role was in
The Killers (1946), which opens with McGraw and fellow heavy
William Conrad as the two hitmen who terrorize a small-town diner in their search for double-crossing hoodlum
Burt Lancaster. McGraw was unbilled in ''
The Farmer's Daughter (1947) and Brute Force (1947) and had small roles in The Big Fix (1947) and The Long Night (1947). He had slightly bigger parts in On the Old Spanish Trail (1947), a Roy Rogers Western, and some noirs, Roses Are Red (1947) and The Gangster'' (1947). McGraw's parts remained small in
T-Men (1947) for
Anthony Mann,
The Hunted (1948),
Berlin Express (1948),
Hazard (1948), and
Blood on the Moon (1948). He had a bigger role in
Once More, My Darling (1949), then went back to small parts in
Reign of Terror (1949) and
Border Incident (1949) for Mann, and
The Story of Molly X (1949). McGraw moved up to third billing in the noir
The Threat (1949). He played a cop in
Side Street (1950) for Mann and a gangster in
Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town (1951). He played Perry Smith's (Robert Blake) father in "In Cold Blood" (1967).
Leading man '' (1951) McGraw was finally given a leading role in RKO's
Armored Car Robbery (1950) directed by
Richard Fleischer. He played a gangster in
His Kind of Woman (1951), then had the lead in
Roadblock (1951) as "Honest Joe," the insurance investigator turned thief by love. Fleischer used McGraw in the lead of
The Narrow Margin (1952). He was a sergeant in
One Minute to Zero (1952) and
War Paint (1953) and was a villain in
Thunder Over the Plains (1954). McGraw's other notable roles were as
Kirk Douglas's gladiator trainer in the epic
Spartacus (1960) and as "The Preacher" in the science fiction film
A Boy and His Dog. During the filming of
Spartacus,
Kirk Douglas accidentally broke McGraw's jaw during an action sequence.
Television After appearing in radio, including the 03/13/1949 episode "Rubin Callaway's Pictures" of the noir-ish detective radio program
Pat Novak for Hire, McGraw moved to television. In the 1954-55 television season, McGraw starred as the character Mike Waring in the 39-episode
syndicated series Adventures of the Falcon. The series updated the original Falcon premise to portray Waring as a secret agent in the
Cold War. He also starred in the first television version of
Casablanca (1955), taking
Humphrey Bogart's role as Rick Blaine. Additionally, he had the role of Captain Hughes in
The Smith Family. In 1963, McGraw played Dr. Simon Oliver in the pilot of
Diagnosis: Danger, a medical drama. He later had various single-appearance roles in television episodes such as the gruff and menacing Sheriff Gains in "The Gamble," an installment of the
NBC western series
Bonanza. In 1964, he guest starred on
Gunsmoke as Albert Calvin, rich farm owner who lets jealousy ruin his life and drive him to murder in "Bently" (S9E28). He portrayed a boat captain in "Harbor Division," a 1973 episode of
Adam-12. He also appeared in 1973 in
Hawkins: Death and the Maiden, a TV movie that served as the
pilot for the series
Hawkins starring
James Stewart. ==Personal life and death==