John Gavin
John Gavin ( born April 8, 1928 in Los Angeles when John Anthony Golenor ) is an American actor and diplomat.
Life
Gavin was born the son of Ray Herald Golenor and his Mexican wife Diana Delia Pablos. He first began studying Latin American Economic History at Stanford University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. Then he made a four-year military service as a reconnaissance officer in the U.S. Navy ( 1952-1955 ).
Hollywood
Following his military service, John Gavin went to Hollywood, where he was as a film actor in 1956 alongside Rory Calhoun Western Raw Edge made his debut. The actor corresponded to the common ideal of beauty of that time - tall, dark, strong chin - and therefore usually embodied straight, upright characters.
Gavin played relevant roles in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, time to live in Douglas Sirk's war drama, a Time to Die ( Golden Globe Award for Best Newcomer 1959) and next Lana Turner in Sirk's social drama as long as there are people next to Doris Day in the thriller Midnight Lace and Peter Ustinov's comedy Romanoff and Juliet. In 1960, he embodied in Stanley Kubrick's epic film Spartacus the Roman general Julius Caesar. The always somewhat wooden acting Gavin - Hitchcock was therefore nicknamed The Stiff ( The stiffness ) missed him - but could not build on these early successes and worked from mid-1960s, mainly as a television actor.
In 1971, Gavin in the footsteps of George Lazenby as James Bond a contract for film production Diamonds Are Forever. After Sean Connery, however, had signaled its willingness to return as Bond, the contract was canceled with Gavin again.
The Screen Actors Guild
In the same year Gavin ( Screen Actors Guild ) was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild. The post he held until 1973. Afterwards he tried his hand as a stage actor on Broadway ( Seesaw, 1973).
Diplomatic career
1981 beat his fellow actor and predecessor as president of the Screen Actors Guild, Ronald Reagan, Gavin for the post of U.S. ambassador to Mexico before. These predestined Gavin especially his excellent language skills - his mother was of Mexican descent and had raised bilingual him. From June 1981 to June 1986 he took office true. Since 1986 he has worked as a businessman in the private sector.
Since 1974, Gavin is married in second marriage with the fellow actress Constance Towers. The couple has two children together, as well as two children from Towers ' first marriage.