John Gavin

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, Imitation of Life (1959), Spartacus (1960), Psycho (1960), Midnight Lace (1960), and Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), playing leading roles for producer Ross Hunter.

Early life 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.

Military service During the Korean War Gavin was commissioned in the U.S. Navy serving aboard the 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.

Career Entry into acting 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.

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." 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:

Gavin disliked comparisons to Rock Hudson and in a 1960 interview said he considered quitting acting to take up law. 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.

Return to Universal In September 1964 Gavin signed a new contract with Universal, which gave him the option to take work outside the studio. 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. 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.

James Bond 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.

Screen Actors Guild 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.

Gavin's presidency in the Screen Actors Guild came to an end when he was defeated by Dennis Weaver in 1973. Gavin was the first incumbent president to be defeated by an independent challenger.

Theatre Gavin made a 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 at the South Shore Music Circus' twentieth anniversary summer season (June 29 - July 4, 1970) in Massachusetts.

In 1973 Gavin replaced Ken Howard in the Broadway musical Seesaw opposite Michele Lee. Gavin said he first turned down the musical because of his unhappiness with the quality of the book but reconsidered when Michael Bennett asked him to join the cast. He played the role for seven months and toured the United States with Lucie Arnaz. Both the Broadway and touring productions were directed by Michael Bennett. He guest-starred on Mannix, The Love Boat, Medical Center, Hart to Hart, and Fantasy Island.

Politics John Gavin with first ladies Paloma Cordero of Mexico (left) and Nancy Reagan of the United States (right) after the 1985 Mexico City earthquake. Gavin was cultural adviser to the Organization of American States from 1961 to 1965.

Ambassador to Mexico A Republican, Gavin was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Mexico in June 1981 by President Ronald Reagan. He met with opposition political parties while being a key defender of the president's anti-communist policies within Central America, for which he received attention and scrutiny. Gavin served until June 1986, when he resigned to go back to private life.

Business career In June 1986 following his work as ambassador to Mexico, Gavin became vice-president of Atlantic Richfield in federal and international relations. In 1987 he resigned to become president of Univisa Satellite Communications, a subsidiary of Univisa, the Spanish language broadcasting empire.

Gavin was president of Gamma Holdings, a global capital and consulting company which he helped found in 1968. He became chairman of Gamma Services International in January 1990. He served on the boards of Causeway Capital; the Hotchkis & Wiley Funds; the TCW Strategic Income Fund; Securitas Security Services USA, Inc.; DII Industries, LLC; Claxson Interactive Group Inc.; Anvita, Inc.; the Latin America Strategy Board at HM Capital Partners LLC; Apex Mortgage Capital Inc.; Krause's Furniture, Inc.; Atlantic Richfield Co.; International Wire Holdings Company; and International Wire Group Holdings, Inc. Gavin served as senior counselor to Hicks Trans American Partners (a division of Hicks Holdings) and managing director and partner of Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst (Latin America) from 1994 to 2001. He was an independent trustee of Causeway International Value Fund.

Gavin served on various pro bono boards, including UCLA's Anderson Graduate School of Management, Don Bosco Institute, the FEDCO Charitable Fund, the Hoover Institution, Loyola-Marymount University, the National Parks Foundation, Southwest Museum, the University of the Americas, and Villanova Preparatory School.

Personal life Gavin was married to Cicely Evans from 1957 until their divorce in 1965. They had two daughters. During the filming of No Roses for OSS 117 in Italy in 1967, Gavin dated co-star Luciana Paluzzi.

In 1974 Gavin married stage and television actress Constance Towers. The two were introduced at a party in 1957 by Gavin's godfather, Jimmy McHugh. Towers had two children from her previous marriage to Eugene McGrath. Gavin and Towers remained married until his death in 2018.

Death Gavin died of complications from pneumonia after a long battle with leukemia on February 9, 2018, at his home in Beverly Hills.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1956 Raw Edge Dan Kirby Credited as John Gilmore Behind the High Wall Johnny Hutchins Credited as John Golenor 1957 Four Girls in Town Tom Grant 1969 The Madwoman of Chaillot The Reverend 1976 House of Shadows Roland Stewart 1978 Jennifer Senator Tremayne 1981 History of the World, Part I Marche

Television Year Title Role Notes 1960 Insight The Priest Episode: "The Martyr" 1962 Alcoa Premiere William Fortnum Episode: "The Jail" 1963 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Dr. Don Reed Season 1 Episode 31: "Run for Doom" 1964 Destry Harrison Destry Main role (13 episodes) 1964 The Virginian Charles Boulanger / Baker Episode: "Portrait of a Widow" 1964 Kraft Suspense Theatre Carlos Episode: "A Truce to Terror" 1964 Kraft Suspense Theatre Tom Threepersons Episode: "Threepersons" 1965 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Johnny Kendall Season 3 Episode 29: "Off Season" 1965 Convoy Commander Dan Talbot Main role (13 episodes) 1970 Cutter's Trail Ben Cutter Television film 1971 The Doris Day Show Dr. Forbes Episode: "Skiing Anyone?" 1973 Nefertiti y Aquenatos Akhenaten Television film 1973 Mannix Arthur Danford Episode: "The Danford File" 1974 ABC Wide World of Mystery Episode: "Hard Day at Blue Nose" 1975 The Lives of Jenny Dolan Officer Television film 1976 Medical Center Lieutenant Colonel Halliday Episode: "Major Annie, MD" 1977 The Love Boat Dan Barton Episode: "Silent Night" S1 E11 1978 Fantasy Island Harry Kellino Episode: "Family Reunion" 1978 Doctors' Private Lives Dr. Jeffrey Latimer Television film 1978 Flying High Senator James Sinclair Episode: "South by Southwest" 1978 The New Adventures of Heidi Dan Wyler Television film 1979 Doctors' Private Lives Dr. Jeffrey Latimer Main role (4 episodes) 1980 Sophia Loren: Her Own Story Cary Grant Television film 1980 Hart to Hart Craig Abernathy Episode: "Murder, Murder on the Wall" 1981 Fantasy Island Jack Foster Episode: "Something Borrowed, Something Blue ..."

Theatre credits

The Fantastiks (1967) – Paper Mill Playhouse and The Cape Playhouse on Cape Cod, Massachusetts in 1970 Seesaw (1974) with Lucie Arnaz – Broadway and tour

Mr. Roberts (1968) - Paper Mill Playhouse