John Vivyan

Biography

John Vivyan was born John R. Vukayan on May 31, 1915 in Chicago, Illinois to Serbian immigrant parents. He served in the U.S. Army during the Guadalcanal campaign for the 132nd Infantry Regiment, Company "E" in World War II, where he wounded his leg. After attending the American Academy of Dramatic Art under the GI Bill of Rights, he changed his last name to Vivyan, and he first appeared on stage in the late 1940's before taking film and television roles. His first screen role was in the 1949 episode Two Sharp Knives in the anthology Studio One. Later, he guest-starred in a wide variety of television series, but primarily in westerns, such as Colt .45, Sugarfoot, Yancy Derringer, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Tombstone Territory, Bat Masterson, Maverick, and numerous others, but by far, John Vivyan is best known for his starring role as the honest, debonair gambler in the Blake Edwards series, Mr. Lucky (1959-1960), co-starring Ross Martin as Andamo. He worked very infrequently after 1970; his last two appearances being the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati (1982) and the detective series Simon & Simon (1983). Vivyan died on December 20, 1983 in Santa Monica, California at the age of 68, and is interred at Westwood Village Memorial Park, in Los Angeles.