John McGiver: Biography

Portly, tight-jawed John McGiver had intended to become a professional actor upon graduating from Catholic University in Washington D.C., but he became an English teacher at New York's Christopher Columbus High School instead. One day in the mid-1950s, McGiver bumped into one of his old Catholic University classmates, who'd become an off-Broadway producer; the star of the producer's newest play had just walked out, and would McGiver be interested in taking his place? This little favor led to a 20-year career in TV and films for the balding, bookish McGiver. He was featured in such films as Love in the Afternoon (1957), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and Mame (1974). McGiver's funniest screen portrayal was the thick-eared landscaper in The Gazebo (1959), who insisted upon referring to the title object as a "GAZE-bow". In 1964, John McGiver starred as Walter Burnley, supervisor of a department store complaint department, on the weekly TV sitcom Many Happy Returns. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide