John Gavin (8 April 1931-9 February 2018), born Juan Vincent Apablasa Jr., was the United States ambassador to Mexico from 5 June 1981 to 10 June 1986 (succeeding Julian Nava and preceding Charles J. Pilliod Jr.). A former Hollywood celebrity, he became a Republican politician in California.
Biography[]
Juan Vincent Apablasa Jr. was born in Los Angeles, California in 1931 to a family of colonial Spanish ancestry. He served as a US Navy air intelligence officer from 1951 to 1953 during the Korean War, and, following his military service, he went from being a Hollywood technical adviser to becoming one of Universal's leading men. He became a successful actor during the 1950s and 1960s, and he also entered politics as a cultural adviser to the Organization of American States from 1961 to 1965, as President of the Screen Actors Guild from 1971 to 1973, and as Ronald Reagan's ambassador to Mexico from 1981 to 1986. A Republican, he supported trade, opposed illegal drug dealing, and spoke out against anti-American sentiment, although he often met with government critics and was accused of meddling in the country's domestic affairs. In 1991, he briefly considered a US Senate run, but he decided not to do so. He died in Beverly Hills in 2018 at the age of 86.
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