JOHN GAVIN had already signed the contract and was all set to go, when, at the last minute, the original big-screen Bond had a truck-full of money driven up to his front door and was told to 'say when' as loads of lovely dosh was pumped through his letterbox (figuratively speaking of course). Poor John was paid his agreed fee in full and didn't even have to earn it, but that was probably no consolation for missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime. Having said that, he was in the frame for LIVE & LET DIE when Connery refused to do it, but the producers ultimately decided to use a British actor and the role went to ROGER MOORE instead. (Wise choice if you ask me. I liked Rog's turn as Bond.)
If you're anything like me, you may be asking "Who the heck's John Gavin?", which is what I said when I first read of this fact in JOHN BROSNAN's book JAMES BOND In The CINEMA back in the '70s. Dedicated movie buffs will know that he appeared in PSYCHO and SPARTACUS, so he wasn't a complete unknown, but his name doesn't seem to be particularly well-remembered these days. Anyway, above is a photo of him, taken from another book, The JAMES BOND FILMS by STEVEN JAY RUBIN, which was first published in 1981.
What do you think, Criv-ites? Does he look the part, or are you glad that things turned out the way they did with the Edinburgh-born laddie once more picking up his WALTHER PPK ? (And yes, you're right - that is MARY TYLER MOORE in the above photo.) What's that? You're not sure - one measly pic isn't enough to go on? Okay, below is another, from his short-lived 1964 TV series DESTRY. Had he got to play Bond, he'd have been the tallest actor in the role, standing as he did at an impressive 6' 4".
