John Gavin
From Alfred Hitchcock Wiki
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- born: 08/Apr/1931 (Los Angeles, California, USA)
Biography
John Gavin (born John Anthony Golenor Pablos) is an American film actor and a former United States Ambassador to Mexico. Gavin is half Mexican and fluent in Spanish.
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 seminal 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 on for the role of James Bond in 1971's "Diamonds Are Forever" after George Lazenby left the role. However, he never played Bond due to Sean Connery's expensive return to the 007 franchise yet still had his contract honored in full. According to Roger Moore's "James Bond Diary", Gavin was also slated to play Bond in 1973's "Live and Let Die" but Harry Saltzman insisted on an Englishman for the role. Gavin did play 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".
Filmography
With Hitchcock...
- Psycho (1960) - cast: Sam Loomis
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour - Run for Doom (17/May/1963) - cast: Dr. Don Reed
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour - Off Season (10/May/1965) - cast: Johnny Kendall
External Links
Film Frames
Selection of film frames of John Gavin (click image to view larger version or refresh thumbnails)...
Image Gallery
Images from the Hitchcock Gallery (click to view larger versions or search for all relevant images)...