biography
Born Juan Vincent Apablasa in Los Angeles on April 8, 1931 (some sources cite 1928 and 1932 as his year of birth), handsome John Gavin's parents separated not long after his birth.
His mother remarried in the 1930s, and her new husband adopted the boy and changed his name to John Golenor. Graduating from Stanford with a degree in economics, Gavin
served a hitch in the Navy afterward. After his hitch was up in 1955, he aimed to be a technical advisor for a film about the military but was discovered instead as an actor.
Signing with Universal-International in 1956 at the end of the studio system, Gavin's first few films were B movies, including
Raw Edge (1956; with Rory Calhoun and Yvonne De Carlo) and Four Girls in Town (1957;
with George Nader and Julie Adams). Handsome and with loads of charisma, his star rose quickly, and
soon he was cast in such 'A' pictures as Imitation of Life (1959; with Lana Turner) and Psycho (1960; with Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh). Also, he won a
Golden Globe in 1959 for Most Promising Male Newcomer. However, after several high-profile pictures, Gavin's acting career began to fade in the early 1960s with the end of his first Universal contract. He signed again with the studio in 1964 following his short-lived ABC western Destry (1964). Universal cast him in the lead role in the NBC war drama Convoy (1965) and in Universal's musical comedy Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967; with Julie Andrews and Mary Tyler Moore). As his contract with Universal was non-exclusive, Gavin was soon off to star in the Mexican production Pedro Paramo (1967) and the Eurospy thriller OSS 117 Murder for Sale (1968; with Margaret Lee and Luciana Paluzzi). His career was looking up in 1970 when Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, producers of the James Bond series, signed him to replace George Lazenby as James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever (1971; with Sean Connery, Jill St. John, and Lana Wood). However, at the last minute Broccoli and Saltzman offered Sean Connery a huge salary to return to the role, knocking Gavin out of the job but not a paycheck, as the producers had to pay off his contract. At about the time of the release of Diamonds Are Forever, he was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild, a post at which he served for two years. He was also considered for the lead role in Live and Let Die (1973; with Roger Moore), before Roger Moore was cast as James Bond. |
the films of john gavinBehind the High Wall (1956)   From Universal-International's film noir thriller Behind the High Wall. LEFT: As the wronged convict Johnny Hutchins. CENTER and RIGHT: With Betty LynnFour Girls in Town (1956) From Universal's Four Girls in Town with Gia ScalaQuantez (1957)A Time to Love and a Time to Die (1958) From the Universal-International war drama A Time to Love and a Time to Die with Liselotte Pulver. This was Gavin's first starring roleImitation of Life (1959) From Universal-International's drama Imitation of Life with Lana TurnerA Breath of Scandal (1960) With Sophia Loren in Paramount's romance A Breath of ScandalPsycho (1960)  From Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, released by Universal. LEFT: With Janet Leigh. RIGHT: With Vera Miles and Janet LeighBack Street (1961) From Universal-International's potboiler Back Street with Susan HaywardRomanoff and Juliet (1961) From Peter Ustinov's comedy Romanoff and Juliet with Sandra DeeTammy Tell Me True (1961) With Sandra Dee in the Universal light comedy Tammy Tell Me TrueDestry (1964 ABC TV series) From Gavin's ABC western series DestryThoroughly Modern Millie (1967)  From Universal's musical comedy Thoroughly Modern Millie. LEFT: With Julie Andrews. RIGHT: With Mary Tyler MoorePussycat, Pussycat, I Love You (1970) Gavin portrays Grant Granite in the campy United Artists comedy Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love Youlater yearsAfter Gavin's film career slowed, he did quite a bit of stage work on Broadway and off in the 1970s, appearing in such plays as Seesaw. In 1981, he gave up his acting career to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico during the Reagan administration and became quite successful in business ventures. He had two daughters with first wife Cicely, to whom he was married from 1957 to 1965, and Gavin married actress Constance Towers in 1974. Sadly, John Gavin passed away on February 9, 2018 after battling leukemia and a bout with pneumonia. He was survived by Towers, his two daughters, and two step-daughters. |
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This page premiered August 28, 2003.
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