Square-jawed matinee idol John Gavin was at the top of his game in the ‘70s when newspapers started buzzing that the James Bond producers had signed the new 007 - a young American actor who starred in Hitchcock’s blockbuster Psycho.

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John Gavin, a real-life spy

Gavin had dated Thunderball ‘Bond Girl’ Luciana Paluzzi and starred with future Bond villain Curd Jürgens (Stromberg in The Spy Who Loved Me) in the espionage thriller OSS 117. He was even a bona fide spy who’d served in US Naval intelligence during the Korean War, so who could possibly be more qualified to lead the cast of Diamonds Are Forever (1971)?

Gossip columnist Hedda Hopper teased, “He is handsome and has a silken sort of threat which gives women chills up and down the spine.” The 007 contract was signed, Deadline reported. Excitement mounted… Then, it all started going horribly wrong.

No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to walk away

It seems United Artists wanted Sean Connery back behind the wheel of 007’s Aston Martin DB5 and were willing to pay £1.25m. They also offered to honor Gavin’s contract in full (reportedly $50,000) and he disappeared like a gentleman spy into the night. Rather than having his shot at becoming the greatest Bond in history, Gavin apparently had to settle for being the only Bond in history to be paid without filming even one frame.

Worse still, Deadline reported, Gavin was slated to play Bond in 1973’s Live and Let Die but producers opted for British actor Roger Moore instead. Double ouch.

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Gavin's ties to Ronald Reagan

John Gavin’s acting career stalled. He appeared in a few movies and on US TV shows Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, and Hart to Hart, but it was hardly 007 battling Blofeld. Gavin fell back on his track record of government service instead. He was on friendly terms with actor and US president, Ronald Reagan - they’d both headed Hollywood’s Screen Actors Guild - and Reagan needed diplomats, men he could trust to keep secrets.

In addition to his many talents, Gavin was fluent in Spanish and Portuguese having been born in Los Angeles in 1931 as Juan Vincent Apablasa II. His father was of Chilean descent and his mother was a Mexican-born aristocrat. Gavin earned his Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University studying economics, Latin American affairs, and drama.

The Cold Warrior Spy‍

Gavin played down his academic credentials, however. “Probably if I told the studio I had come out of the Stanford drama school, done a little theater and TV, I wouldn’t have had a chance,” Gavin said in 1958. “But they seemed intrigued by my lack of credentials.”

Gavin had more than proven himself as a Cold Warrior as well. In addition to Korea, he served in Panama as Pan-American affairs officer to the Navy commandant. In between acting jobs, Gavin was a special advisor promoting President John F. Kennedy’s Alliance for Progress to help Latin American countries improve their economies.

In 1981, Reagan appointed Gavin US Ambassador to Mexico. “If you’re not attacked at least once a month, I’ll feel you’re not doing your job,” Reagan quipped when offering him the role. 

John Gavin: Live and let die‍

Gavin had tired of diplomacy by 1985 and opened a Los Angeles office to invest in Mexican enterprises.

“The 6-foot-4-inch (1.9 meters) leading man and his statuesque blonde wife, Constance Towers, an actress and singer in Broadway musicals and Hollywood films, made a stunning couple and were admired by Mexicans,” AP reported.

The Los Angeles Times saw it a bit differently: Gavin "won praise in many circles for his handling of such issues as trade and illegal drug dealing as well as for speaking out against anti-American sentiment. But his candor and meetings with critics of the ruling party prompted accusations by Mexicans of meddling in the country's domestic affairs."

Gavin declined an invitation from President George H.W. Bush’s administration to run for a Senate seat and died in 2018 at the age of 86, leaving behind a loving wife, children, an enviable career, and more than a few questions about what might have been if Sean Connery said ‘no’.