RIP, Mr. Gavin.

I see his original name was Juan Vincent Apablasa. Somehow it hadn't ever at all occurred to me that he might be of Latin descent.

It would have been interesting to see him as James Bond. I think that just might have worked!

Think he may have had one Mexican parent and one American parent, but whatever, it works well for his looks, right?

• Surprised that John's most famous films are produced within a matter of a two year span....
• "Back Street" (1961) as Paul Saxon
• "Tammy Tell Me True" (1961) as Thomas 'Tom' Freeman
• "Romanoff and Juliet" (1961) as Igor Romanoff
• "Midnight Lace" (1960) as Brian Younger
• "Spartacus" (1960) as Julius Caesar
• "Psycho" (1960) as Sam Loomis
• "A Breath of Scandal" (1960) as Charles Foster
• "Imitation of Life" (1959) as Steve Archer

He goes from portraying Sandra Dee's would-be-stepfather to her would-be-fiancé but also pairs nicely with Vera Miles and Susan Hayward.

Also interesting that he plays the quiet leading man to overly dramatic leading ladies in those Ross Hunter/ Douglas Sirk soapies remakes, where the originals and original remakes are much better, but John still commands the screen, even with Donna Mills on Love Boar many years later.

According to Wikipedia:

Born Juan Vincent Apablasa Jr., Gavin was of Mexican, Chilean and Spanish descent....His father, Juan Vincent Apablasa Sr., was of Chilean origin, and his paternal ancestors, including Cayetano Apablasa, were early landowners in California under Spanish rule. Gavin's mother was Delia Diana Pablos.

I always figured (no doubt due to 1960's Spartacus) that he was probably of Greek descent. As you said, Quite, whatever the genetic makeup was, it definitely worked.

I think the Bond people always had him as a standby when they were negotiating with Connery.