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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There Goes My Heart | Cyrus W. Butterfield | 1938-10-14 |
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A Yank at Oxford | Ben Dalton | 1938-02-18 |
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Just Around the Corner | Samuel G. Henshaw | 1938-11-11 |
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Little Miss Broadway | Judge | 1938-07-29 |
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Conquest | Stephan | 1937-10-22 |
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Top of the Town | William Borden | 1937-04-17 |
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Can This Be Dixie? | Col. Robert Peachtree | 1936-11-13 |
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Poor Little Rich Girl | Simon Peck | 1936-07-18 |
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The Prisoner of Shark Island | Colonel Dyer | 1936-02-28 |
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Wives Never Know | Mr. Gossamer | 1936-09-18 |
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Florida Special | Simeon Stafford | 1936-05-01 |
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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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Calm Yourself | Col. Allenby | 1935-06-28 |
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Baby Face Harrington | Colton | 1935-04-12 |
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The Woman in Red | Grandpa Wyatt | 1935-02-16 |
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A Tale of Two Cities | Jarvis Lorry | 1935-12-25 |
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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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You Can't Buy Everything | Asa Cabot - Banker | 1934-01-26 |
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City Limits | Tom Oliver | 1934-04-14 |
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Green Eyes | Steven Kester | 1934-06-15 |
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The Captain Hates the Sea | Judge Griswold | 1934-11-02 |
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Unknown Blonde | Papa Van Brunt, Sr. | 1934-04-23 |
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The Show-Off | J.B. Preston | 1934-03-09 |
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In Love with Life | Morley | 1934-05-11 |
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The Avenger | Witt | 1933-08-10 |
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I Loved a Woman | Banker (uncredited) | 1933-09-23 |
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Skyway | John Beaumont | 1933-08-29 |
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Before Midnight | John Fry | 1933-11-18 |
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Back Page | Sam Webster | 1933-11-07 |
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Ann Carver's Profession | Judge Bingham | 1933-06-09 |
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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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Compromised | John Brock | 1931-11-19 |
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Gold Dust Gertie | John Aberdeen Arnold | 1931-06-27 |
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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 Wide Open Spaces | Judge | 1931-12-28 |
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Kiss Me Again | Count de St. Cyr | 1931-01-07 |
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The Conquering Horde | Jim Nabours | 1931-03-01 |
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Daddy Long Legs | Riggs | 1931-06-05 |
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The Flirting Widow | Faraday | 1930-05-11 |
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Dumb-bells in Ermine | Uncle Roger | 1930-05-10 |
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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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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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Stark Mad | James Rutherford - Expedition Leader | 1929-02-02 |
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Stolen Kisses | H.A. Lambert Sr. | 1929-02-23 |
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So Long Letty | Uncle Claude Davis | 1929-10-16 |
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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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Barbed Wire | Jean Moreau | 1927-09-09 |
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The Gorilla | Cyrus Townsend | 1927-11-13 |
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Fast and Furious | Smithfield | 1927-06-12 |
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Husbands for Rent | Sir Reginald Knight | 1927-12-31 |
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Naughty But Nice | Judge J. R. Altewood | 1927-06-25 |
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That's My Baby | John Raynor | 1926-04-19 |
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45 Minutes from Hollywood | Old Man in Hotel Bed (uncredited) | 1926-12-26 |
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Into Her Kingdom | Ivan | 1926-08-08 |
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A Thief in Paradise | Noel Jardine | 1925-06-18 |
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We Moderns | Sir Robert Sundale | 1925-11-15 |
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Winds of Chance | Tom Linton | 1925-08-15 |
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Seven Sinners | Pious Joe McDowell | 1925-11-07 |
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Wages for Wives | Jim Bailey | 1925-12-15 |
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Cheaper to Marry | Riddle | 1925-02-09 |
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Daddies | James Crockett | 1924-02-09 |
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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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Idle Tongues | Judge Daniel Webster Copeland | 1924-12-21 |
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Dulcy | Mr. Forbes | 1923-08-27 |
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Souls for Sale | Self - Celebrity Actor (uncredited) | 1923-04-22 |
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A Chapter in Her Life | Mr. Everingham | 1923-09-17 |
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Three Wise Fools | Theodore Findley | 1923-08-19 |
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The Christian | Lord Storm | 1923-01-14 |
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Tiger Rose | Hector McCollins | 1923-12-09 |
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Crinoline and Romance | Col. Charles E. Cavanaugh | 1923-02-05 |
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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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Remembrance | John P. Grout | 1922-10-01 |
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Fools First | Denton Drew | 1922-05-27 |
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Little Lord Fauntleroy | Earl of Dorincourt | 1921-09-15 |
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My Boy | Captain Bill | 1921-12-01 |
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Alice Adams | Virgil Adams |
