Claude Gillingwater
Acting
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)
Known for
Acting89
movieCafe Society
1939
Old Christopher West
movieJust Around the Corner
1938
Samuel G. Henshaw
movieThere Goes My Heart
1938
Cyrus W. Butterfield
movieA Yank at Oxford
1938
Ben Dalton
movieConquest
1937
Stephan
movieTop of the Town
1937
William Borden
movieCan This Be Dixie?
1936
Col. Robert Peachtree
movieWives Never Know
1936
Mr. Gossamer
moviePoor Little Rich Girl
1936
Simon Peck
movieTicket to Paradise
1936
Robert Forbes
movieCounterfeit
1936
Tom Perkins
movieFlorida Special
1936
Simeon Stafford
movieThe Prisoner of Shark Island
1936
Colonel Dyer
movieA Tale of Two Cities
1935
Jarvis Lorry
movieCalm Yourself
1935
Col. Allenby
movieMississippi
1935
General Rumford
movieThe Woman in Red
1935
Grandpa Wyatt
movieStrange Wives
1934
Guggins
movieThe Captain Hates the Sea
1934
Judge Griswold
movieGreen Eyes
1934
Steven Kester
movieUnknown Blonde
1934
Papa Van Brunt, Sr.
movieCity Limits
1934
Tom Oliver
movieThe Show-Off
1934
J.B. Preston
movieYou Can't Buy Everything
1934
Asa Cabot - Banker
movieBefore Midnight
1933
John Fry
movieBack Page
1933
Sam Webster
movieI Loved a Woman
1933
Banker (uncredited)
movieSkyway
1933
John Beaumont
movieTess of the Storm Country
1932
Frederick Garfield Sr
Running Hollywood
1932
Claude Gillingwater
movieCompromised
1931
John Brock
movieGold Dust Gertie
1931
John Aberdeen Arnold
movieThe Conquering Horde
1931
Jim Nabours
movieIllicit
1931
Richard Ives Sr.
movieKiss Me Again
1931
Count de St. Cyr
movieThe Flirting Widow
1930
Faraday
movieDumb-bells in Ermine
1930
Uncle Roger
movieMexicali Rose
1929
(uncredited)
movieSo Long Letty
1929
Uncle Claude Davis
movieThe Great Divide
1929
Winthrop Amesbury
movieSmiling Irish Eyes
1929
Michael O'Connor
movieGlad Rag Doll
1929
Sam Underlane
movieStolen Kisses
1929
H.A. Lambert Sr.
movieStark Mad
1929
James Rutherford - Expedition Leader
movieOh Kay!
1928
Judge Appleton
movieWomen They Talk About
1928
Grandfather Mervin
movieHusbands for Rent
1927
Sir Reginald Knight
movieThe Gorilla
1927
Cyrus Townsend
movieBarbed Wire
1927
Jean Moreau
movieNaughty But Nice
1927
Judge J. R. Altewood
movieFast and Furious
1927
Smithfield
movie45 Minutes from Hollywood
1926
Old Man in Hotel Bed (uncredited)
movieFor Wives Only
1926
Professor von Waldstein
That's My Baby
1926
John Raynor
movieWages for Wives
1925
Jim Bailey
movieWe Moderns
1925
Sir Robert Sundale
movieSeven Sinners
1925
Pious Joe McDowell
movieWinds of Chance
1925
Tom Linton
movieA Thief in Paradise
1925
Noel Jardine
movieIdle Tongues
1924
Judge Daniel Webster Copeland
movieMadonna of the Streets
1924
Lord Patrington
movieHow to Educate a Wife
1924
Henry Bancks
movieDaddies
1924
James Crockett
movieTiger Rose
1923
Hector McCollins
movieA Chapter in Her Life
1923
Mr. Everingham
movieDulcy
1923
Mr. Forbes
movieThree Wise Fools
1923
Theodore Findley
movieSouls for Sale
1923
Self - Celebrity Actor (uncredited)
movieAlice Adams
1923
Virgil Adams
movieCrinoline and Romance
1923
Col. Charles E. Cavanaugh
movieThe Christian
1923
Lord Storm
movieThe Strangers' Banquet
1922
Uncle Sam
movieRemembrance
1922
John P. Grout
movieFools First
1922
Denton Drew
movieMy Boy
1921
Captain Bill
movieLittle Lord Fauntleroy
1921
Earl of Dorincourt
movieWild Primrose
1918
Standish