John Gavin (born Juan Vincent Apablasa; April 8, 1931 – February 9, 2018) was an American actor and diplomat who was the president of the Screen Actors Guild (1971–1973) and the United States Ambassador to Mexico (1981–1986). Among the films in which he appeared were A Time to Love and a Time to Die (1958), Imitation of Life (1959), Spartacus (1960), Psycho (1960), Midnight Lace (1960), and Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), playing leading roles for producer Ross Hunter.
Gavin was born in Los Angeles as Juan Vincent Apablasa II. His father, Juan Vincent Apablasa, Sr., was of Chilean descent and his mother, Delia Diana Pablos, was a Mexican-born aristocrat. When Juan was two, his parents divorced and his mother married Herald Ray Golenor, who adopted Juan and changed his name to John Anthony Golenor.
After attending Roman Catholic schools, St. John's Military Academy (Los Angeles), and Villanova Preparatory (Ojai, California), he earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in economics and Latin American affairs from Stanford University, where he was in the Navy ROTC, did senior honors work in Latin American economic history, and was a member of Chi Psi fraternity.
During the Korean War Gavin was commissioned in the U.S. Navy serving aboard the USS Princeton off Korea, where he served as an air intelligence officer from 1951 until the end of the war in 1953. Due to Gavin's fluency in both Spanish and Portuguese, he was assigned as flag lieutenant to Admiral Milton E. Miles until he completed his four-year tour of duty in 1955. He received an award for his work in the Honduras floods of 1954.
In a 1960 interview Gavin disputed rumors that he was born into wealth by revealing that he attended a preparatory school and Stanford University on scholarships.
Following his naval service Gavin offered himself as a technical adviser to family friend and film producer Bryan Foy, who was making a movie about the Princeton. Instead, Foy arranged a screen test for Gavin with Universal-International. Gavin initially refused the offer, but his father urged him to try it. The test was successful and Gavin signed with the studio. "They offered me so much money I couldn't resist", he said later.
Universal groomed Gavin as a leading man in the mold of Rock Hudson. He trained in Jess Kimmel's talent workshop under the name John Gilmore. His classmates included Grant Williams, Gia Scala, and John Saxon. His first film was Raw Edge (1956), in which he played the brother of Rory Calhoun and was billed as John Gilmore. His name changed to John Gavin for the films Behind the High Wall (1956), Four Girls in Town (1957), and Quantez (also 1957). Gavin was meant to star in The Female Animal (1958) but was too busy on other projects and was replaced by George Nader.
Stardom: A Time to Love and a Time to Die
Gavin's break was the lead in A Time to Love and a Time to Die (1958), directed by Douglas Sirk from the novel by Erich Maria Remarque. His casting drew comparisons with the casting of the similarly inexperienced Lew Ayres in Universal's film version of All Quiet on the Western Front (1931). Sirk cast Gavin for the young actor's inexperience, fresh looks, and earnest manner. The film was not a success when it was released, although Gavin received praise for his performance.
Before A Time to Love and a Time to Die had been released, Gavin was cast by Douglas Sirk to support Lana Turner in Imitation of Life (1959). Unlike his previous film this was a box-office success, and Gavin was voted Most Promising Male Newcomer for his performance in the film by the Motion Picture Exhibitor.
Gavin appeared as Julius Caesar in Universal's epic Spartacus (1960), directed by Stanley Kubrick. He was cast as Sam Loomis in the thriller Psycho (1960) for director Alfred Hitchcock. Gavin later claimed he was "terribly disturbed" by the sex and violence in Psycho, saying, "I think Hitch really got frosted with me." Both films were successful, critically and commercially.
Following the success of Imitation of Life, Gavin was often cast as the handsome romantic interest opposite leading ladies but as shallow characters with little to do. He co-starred with Doris Day in the thriller Midnight Lace, Sophia Loren in the comedic A Breath of Scandal (both 1960), Susan Hayward in the melodrama Back Street, and with Sandra Dee in Romanoff and Juliet and Tammy Tell Me True (all 1961). Most of these films were produced by Ross Hunter. He appeared periodically on television in various anthology series. He was directed by a young William Friedkin in the episode "Off Season" (season 10, episode 29) of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.
Gavin later claimed that he lacked training support from Universal during his early days there:When I walked through the gate, Universal quit building actors. All of a sudden I was doing leading roles. I knew I was a tyro but they told me to shut up and act. Some of those early roles were unactable. Even Laurence Olivier couldn't have done anything with them. The dialog included cardboard passages such as "I love you. You can rely on me, darling. I'll wait." It was all I could do to keep from adding, "with egg on my face."
Gavin disliked comparisons to Rock Hudson and in a 1960 interview said he considered quitting acting to take up law. He left Universal in 1962. He signed to make several movies in Europe including The Assassins, The Challenge, and Night Call. However, he pulled out of The Assassins (which became Assassins of Rome (1965)), and Night Call and The Challenge were never made. In early 1964 he starred in the TV series Destry. The series was not a ratings success and was cancelled.
In September 1964 Gavin signed a new contract with Universal, which gave him the option to take work outside the studio. He appeared in the television series Convoy, which was cancelled after a short run. He was in the Mexican film Pedro Páramo (1967), based on the novel by Juan Rulfo. His next role was that of Mary Tyler Moore's character's stuffy boyfriend in Universal's 1920s-era musical Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967). Gavin saw the role as an opportunity to parody his performances in Ross Hunter films.
In June 1966 Gavin signed a five-year non-exclusive contract with Universal. He was cast as the lead in OSS 117 – Double Agent (1968), then titled No Roses for Robert, replacing Frederick Stafford who was filming Alfred Hitchcock's Topaz. He played supporting roles in The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969) and Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You (1970), in which he parodied his own image.
Gavin was signed for the role of James Bond in the film Diamonds Are Forever (1971) after George Lazenby left the project. However, David Picker, the head of United Artists, wanted the box-office assurance of Sean Connery. Gavin's contract was honored despite losing the role to Connery. According to Roger Moore's James Bond Diary, Gavin was slated to play Bond in Live and Let Die (1973), but Harry Saltzman insisted on a British actor for the role and Moore was given the part.
Gavin was on the board of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) in 1965. He served a term as third vice president and two terms as president from 1971 to 1973. During his presidency Gavin testified before the Federal Trade Commission on phone talent rackets and met with President Richard Nixon to present the problem of excessive television reruns. He presented petitions to the federal government on the issues of prime-time access rules, legislative assistance for American motion pictures, and film production by the government using non-professional actors.