Biography
John Irwin McGiver was an American character actor who appeared in more than a hundred television and film roles between 1955 and 1975. He was born in New York City on 5 November 1913 and died there on 9 September 1975.
Before becoming a full-time actor, McGiver earned a B.A. in English from Fordham University and master's degrees from Columbia University and the Catholic University of America. He taught English and speech at a Bronx high school and served as an officer in the U.S. Army's 7th Armored Division during the Second World War. He began acting professionally in the mid-1950s after earlier work with New York's Irish Repertory Theater.
McGiver was frequently cast in comic or bureaucratic roles, often as pompous or aristocratic types. He is known for performances as the Tiffany's salesman in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Senator Thomas Jordan in The Manchurian Candidate (1962), and Mr. O'Daniel in Midnight Cowboy (1969). He also appeared regularly on television series including The Twilight Zone, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie and Alfred Hitchcock Presents, as well as in commercials.
