| John Gavin | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Anthony Golenor Pablos April 8, 1931 Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1956–1981 |
| Spouse | Cecily Evans (m. 1957) Constance Towers (1974-present) |
John Gavin (born April 8, 1931) is an American film actor and a former United States Ambassador to Mexico. Gavin is half Mexican and fluent in Spanish.
He is probably best known for the part of Sam Loomis, Janet Leigh's boyfriend in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and as Julius Caesar in Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus.
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Gavin's father's side, the Golenor family, of Irish origin, were early landowners in California when it was still under Spanish rule. His mother Delia Pablos, was a member of the powerful Pablos family in the Mexican state of Sonora, Mexico, and took the surname "Gavin" when she married Ray Gavin.[1]
After attending St. John's Military Academy of Los Angeles, he earned a B.A. from Stanford University, where he did senior honors work in Latin American economic history and was a member of Stanford's Naval ROTC unit. During the Korean War Gavin was commissioned in the U.S. Navy serving aboard the USS Princeton offshore Korea where he served as an air intelligence officer from 1952 to 1955. Due to Gavin's fluency in both Spanish and Portuguese he was assigned as Flag Lieutenant to Admiral Milton E. Miles.[2]
Following his naval service he offered himself as a technical adviser to a film about the US Navy, but was instead offered a screen test.[3]
Contracted to Universal Pictures where he was groomed as a virile, strapping, handsome leading man in the mold of Rock Hudson, some of his most famous roles include A Time to Love and A Time To Die and Imitation of Life (1959) for director Douglas Sirk and producer Ross Hunter, both of whom had earlier helped make a star of Hudson. Gavin also appeared in the classic thriller Psycho (1960) for director Alfred Hitchcock, the epic Spartacus (1960) directed by Stanley Kubrick, and the 1920s-era Julie Andrews musical Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) for George Roy Hill, again for producer Ross Hunter. Each of those films was among the most successful box-office attractions of their year of release. Gavin also co-starred with such top leading ladies of the era as Doris Day in the 1960 thriller Midnight Lace, Sophia Loren the same year in the comedic A Breath of Scandal and, in 1961, with Susan Hayward in the melodrama Back Street and in Romanoff and Juliet and Tammy Tell Me True, both with Sandra Dee.
Gavin was signed for the role of James Bond in the 1971 film Diamonds Are Forever after George Lazenby left the role. He never played Bond, however, due to Sean Connery's expensive return to the "007" franchise, yet Gavin still had his contract honored in full. According to Roger Moore's James Bond Diary, Gavin also was slated to play Bond in 1973 in Live and Let Die, but Harry Saltzman insisted on an Englishman for the role (Roger Moore played the role instead). Gavin did play OSS 117 the French equivalent of 007, in Pas de Roses pour OSS 117 / No Roses For OSS 117 (1968) replacing Frederick Stafford who was filming Alfred Hitchcock's Topaz.
Gavin was president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1971 to 1973.
Gavin made a successful foray into live theater in the 1970s, showcasing his baritone voice. He toured the summer stock circuit as El Gallo in a production of The Fantasticks and later replaced Ken Howard in the Broadway musical, Seesaw (1973) opposite Michele Lee. Gavin also toured the country in Seesaw with Lucie Arnaz. Both the Broadway and touring production were directed by Michael Bennett.
A Republican, Gavin was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Mexico in June 1981 by President Ronald Reagan and served until June 12, 1986. During his tenure as ambassador, he was involved in an incident where he roughed up a local television cameraman. Since leaving government service, he has become a successful businessman and civic leader, along with volunteering for his nearby community.
He has been married to Constance Towers, a stage and television actress, since 1974. They had first met in 1957 at a party when his godfather, Jimmy McHugh, introduced them.[4] Gavin and Towers each had two children from previous marriages when they married, so the couple have four adult children and three grandchildren. Gavin's older daughter, Cristina Gavin, followed in his footsteps and became an actress. His younger daughter, Maria, also followed in Gavin's footsteps in her own right with a Masters Degree from Gavin's Alma Mater, Stanford, and has a successful career in television production.
Film
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Television
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| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Julian Nava |
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico 1981–1986 |
Succeeded by Charles J. Pilliod, Jr. |
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