John Gavin was born John Anthony Golenor on April 8, 1931 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University, where he did senior honors work in Latin American economic history. Having been born to a Mexican mother, he is fluent in the language.
Before entering government full-time, Gavin served with distinction in the U.S. Navy as an air intelligence officer from 1952-1955, pursued concurrent careers in business and the entertainment field and accumulated considerable public service experience.
After his service in the Navy he was offered a screen test and signed with Universal where he was hyped as the next Rock Hudson. Handsome and debonaire John Gavin's first film was Behind the High Wall (1956) and his first major lead was in the classic and much beloved weeper Imitation of Life (1959) opposite Lana Turner. He portrayed Janet Leigh's lover in Psycho and Julius Caesar in Spartacus. He's thought of fondly, especially by female fans, for his role opposite Susan Hayward in the 1961 remake of Fannie Hurst's Back Street. He signed on for the role of James Bond after George Lazenby, but did not play the part. He starred as an agent in the French-Italian co-production O.S.S. 117 Double Agent (1967), and later in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), Pussycat, Pussycat I Love You (1970), and Heidi (1979). He also starred in three TV series, "Destry" (1964), "Convoy" (1965) and "Doctors' Private Lives" (1979) and made his Broadway debut in 1973 in Seesaw before leaving show business for politics and to pursue business interests.
