Gardner McKay, born George Cadogan Gardner McKay, was an American actor, artist, and author. He is best known for his lead role in the TV series Adventures in Paradise, which was loosely based on the writings of James Michener. His character, Adam Troy, was a Korean War veteran who purchased the two-masted 82-foot schooner Tiki III and sailed the South Pacific. The show ran for three seasons on ABC from 1959 to 1962, totaling 91 episodes.

McKay graduated from Cornell University, where he majored in art. During the 1950s and 1960s, he became a Hollywood heartthrob. Under contract to MGM, he was discovered by Dominick Dunne, a television producer for Twentieth Century Fox, who was searching for an actor to star in the planned Adventures in Paradise.