John Gavin Dies: ‘Psycho’ & ‘Spartacus’ Actor Was 86
February 9, 2018John Gavin Dies: ‘Psycho’ & ‘Spartacus’ Actor Was 86
Actor John Gavin, who starred in Psycho, Spartacus and Imitation Of Life, and served as President Ronald Reagan’s U.S. Ambassador to Mexico in the 1980s, died Friday. He was 86.
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Gavin’s longtime friend William Friedkin confirmed Gavin’s passing in a tweet.
A sad day, my great friend John Gavin died
This morning. One of the finest men I knew
And like a brother to me. May he Rest In Peace— William Friedkin (@WilliamFriedkin) February 9, 2018
Gavin, who also served as President of the Screen Actors Guild in the early 1970s, began his decades-long career on contract at Universal Pictures where he first appeared in films Behind the High Wall, Four Girls in Town, and Quantez.
His big break came with a lead role in Universal’s 1958 film in A Time to Love and a Time to Die from the novel by Erich Maria Remarque. He was next cast in another important role, supporting Lana Turner in 1959’s Imitation of Life.
From there he went on to memorable performances in the epic Spartacus directed by Stanley Kubrick in a key supporting role as Julius Caesar. He was then cast in the classic thriller Psycho (1960) for director Alfred Hitchcock. He was later quoted as saying he was “terribly disturbed” by the sex and violence in Psycho and felt “I think Hitch really got frosted with me.”
Gavin left Universal for a time to freelance, then returned to the studio in 1964, appearing in a Mexican film Pedro Páramo, based on a famous novel.
While filming in Mexico, Gavin heard Universal was making an expensive 1920s-era Julie Andrews musical Thoroughly Modern Millie for George Roy Hill, again for producer Ross Hunter. He lobbied for the role of Mary Tyler Moore’s stuffy boyfriend to Hunter and Universal production head Ed Muhl. Gavin read for Hill and was cast.
Gavin nearly got to play James Bond. He had signed for the role of Bond in 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever after George Lazenby exited the role. But United Artists head David Picker wanted the box-office insurance of Sean Connery instead. Gavin also was slated to play Bond in 1973 in Live and Let Die, but Harry Saltzman insisted on a British actor for the role and Roger Moore got the gig.
Gavin focused on television and his growing business interests in the late 1970s. One of his more memorable performances was playing Cary Grant in the 1980 TV movie Sophia Loren: Her Own Story.