1870-08-01 Louisiana, Missouri, USA
Tall, balding character actor in US films from 1921 until the year he died, usually portraying obstinate or irascible types. A man so disagreeable on celluloid, Claude Gillingwater's characters seemed to subsist on a steady diet of persimmons. Fondly recalled as the cranky old skinflint whose seemingly cold heart could only be warmed by the actions of a cute little tyke, the tall and rangy Gillingwater invariably played much older than he was. He, with the omnipresent bushy brows, crop of silver hair and perpetually sour puss, had a much more versatile career than perhaps realized -- on both stage and in film. Most assuredly, this caustic screen image he perfected belied a softer, gentler off-screen demeanor for he was a kind and sympathetic gent and devoted husband to wife Carlyn Stiletz (or Stellith). Their only child, Claude Gillingwater Jr., briefly became an actor himself. Sadly, Gillingwater Sr.'s thriving character career ended on a grim and tragic note in 1939. A serious accident on the movie set of the picture Florida Special (1936) (he fell from a platform and injured his back) damaged his health and threatened his career, and the death of his long-time wife Carlyn left him irrevocably depressed. Fearing the possibility of becoming an invalid and wishing not to become a serious burden to anyone, the 69-year-old actor committed suicide at his Beverly Hills home with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. Gillingwater left a fine Hollywood legacy and the fun of some of his old films is watching his vinegar turn to sugar. Date of Birth 2 August 1870, Louisiana, Missouri Date of Death 2 November 1939, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California (suicide)
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Cafe Society | Old Christopher West | 1939-03-03 |
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A Yank at Oxford | Ben Dalton | 1938-02-18 |
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There Goes My Heart | Cyrus W. Butterfield | 1938-10-14 |
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Little Miss Broadway | Judge | 1938-07-29 |
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Just Around the Corner | Samuel G. Henshaw | 1938-11-11 |
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Top of the Town | William Borden | 1937-04-17 |
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Conquest | Stephan | 1937-10-22 |
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Poor Little Rich Girl | Simon Peck | 1936-07-18 |
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Wives Never Know | Mr. Gossamer | 1936-09-18 |
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Can This Be Dixie? | Col. Robert Peachtree | 1936-11-13 |
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The Prisoner of Shark Island | Colonel Dyer | 1936-02-28 |
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Counterfeit | Tom Perkins | 1936-05-25 |
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Ticket to Paradise | Robert Forbes | 1936-06-24 |
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Florida Special | Simeon Stafford | 1936-05-01 |
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The Woman in Red | Grandpa Wyatt | 1935-02-16 |
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Baby Face Harrington | Colton | 1935-04-12 |
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A Tale of Two Cities | Jarvis Lorry | 1935-12-25 |
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Calm Yourself | Col. Allenby | 1935-06-28 |
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Mississippi | General Rumford | 1935-03-22 |
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Together We Live | Dick | 1935-08-16 |
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Strange Wives | Guggins | 1934-11-30 |
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The Captain Hates the Sea | Judge Griswold | 1934-11-02 |
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The Show-Off | J.B. Preston | 1934-03-09 |
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Green Eyes | Steven Kester | 1934-06-15 |
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Unknown Blonde | Papa Van Brunt, Sr. | 1934-04-23 |
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City Limits | Tom Oliver | 1934-04-14 |
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You Can't Buy Everything | Asa Cabot - Banker | 1934-01-26 |
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In Love with Life | Morley | 1934-05-11 |
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Back Page | Sam Webster | 1933-11-07 |
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I Loved a Woman | Banker (uncredited) | 1933-09-23 |
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Ann Carver's Profession | Bingham | 1933-05-26 |
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Before Midnight | John Fry | 1933-11-18 |
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The Avenger | Witt | 1933-08-10 |
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Skyway | John Beaumont | 1933-08-29 |
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Tess of the Storm Country | Frederick Garfield Sr | 1932-11-20 |
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Running Hollywood | Claude Gillingwater | 1932-01-27 |
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How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 8: 'The Brassie' | 1931-08-01 | |
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Illicit | Richard Ives Sr. | 1931-02-14 |
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The Conquering Horde | Jim Nabours | 1931-03-01 |
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Kiss Me Again | Count de St. Cyr | 1931-01-07 |
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Gold Dust Gertie | John Aberdeen Arnold | 1931-06-27 |
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The Wide Open Spaces | Judge | 1931-12-28 |
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Daddy Long Legs | Riggs | 1931-06-05 |
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Compromised | John Brock | 1931-11-19 |
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Dumb-bells in Ermine | Uncle Roger | 1930-05-10 |
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The Flirting Widow | Faraday | 1930-05-11 |
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So Long Letty | Uncle Claude Davis | 1929-10-16 |
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Mexicali Rose | (uncredited) | 1929-12-26 |
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Glad Rag Doll | Sam Underlane | 1929-05-04 |
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Stark Mad | James Rutherford - Expedition Leader | 1929-02-02 |
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Smiling Irish Eyes | Michael O'Connor | 1929-07-22 |
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The Great Divide | Winthrop Amesbury | 1929-09-15 |
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Stolen Kisses | H.A. Lambert Sr. | 1929-02-23 |
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Women They Talk About | Grandfather Mervin | 1928-08-10 |
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Oh Kay! | Judge Appleton | 1928-08-26 |
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Naughty But Nice | Judge J. R. Altewood | 1927-06-25 |
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Fast and Furious | Smithfield | 1927-06-12 |
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The Gorilla | Cyrus Townsend | 1927-11-13 |
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Husbands for Rent | Sir Reginald Knight | 1927-12-31 |
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Barbed Wire | Jean Moreau | 1927-09-09 |
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For Wives Only | Professor von Waldstein | 1926-11-08 |
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45 Minutes from Hollywood | Old Man in Hotel Bed (uncredited) | 1926-12-26 |
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That's My Baby | John Raynor | 1926-04-19 |
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Into Her Kingdom | Ivan | 1926-08-08 |
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Wages for Wives | Jim Bailey | 1925-12-15 |
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A Thief in Paradise | Noel Jardine | 1925-06-18 |
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Winds of Chance | Tom Linton | 1925-08-15 |
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We Moderns | Sir Robert Sundale | 1925-11-15 |
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Cheaper to Marry | Riddle | 1925-02-09 |
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Seven Sinners | Pious Joe McDowell | 1925-11-07 |
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Idle Tongues | Judge Daniel Webster Copeland | 1924-12-21 |
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Madonna of the Streets | Lord Patrington | 1924-10-19 |
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How to Educate a Wife | Henry Bancks | 1924-05-01 |
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Daddies | James Crockett | 1924-02-09 |
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Dulcy | Mr. Forbes | 1923-08-27 |
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Alice Adams | Virgil Adams | 1923-04-08 |
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The Christian | Lord Storm | 1923-01-14 |
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Three Wise Fools | Theodore Findley | 1923-08-19 |
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A Chapter in Her Life | Mr. Everingham | 1923-09-17 |
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Crinoline and Romance | Col. Charles E. Cavanaugh | 1923-02-05 |
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Tiger Rose | Hector McCollins | 1923-12-09 |
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Souls for Sale | Self - Celebrity Actor (uncredited) | 1923-04-22 |
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The Dust Flower | 1922-07-02 | |
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The Strangers' Banquet | Uncle Sam | 1922-12-31 |
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Fools First | Denton Drew | 1922-05-27 |
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Remembrance | John P. Grout | 1922-10-01 |
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My Boy | Captain Bill | 1921-12-01 |
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Little Lord Fauntleroy | Earl of Dorincourt | 1921-09-15 |
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Wild Primrose | Standish | 1918-08-12 |
