Claude Gillingwater
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
Credits
- 1939 · Cafe Society as Old Christopher West
- 1938 · Just Around the Corner as Samuel G. Henshaw
- 1938 · There Goes My Heart as Cyrus W. Butterfield
- 1938 · Little Miss Broadway as Judge
- 1938 · A Yank at Oxford as Ben Dalton
- 1937 · Conquest as Stephan
- 1937 · Top of the Town as William Borden
- 1936 · Can This Be Dixie? as Col. Robert Peachtree
- 1936 · Wives Never Know as Mr. Gossamer
- 1936 · Poor Little Rich Girl as Simon Peck
- 1936 · Ticket to Paradise as Robert Forbes
- 1936 · Counterfeit as Tom Perkins
- 1936 · Florida Special as Simeon Stafford
- 1936 · The Prisoner of Shark Island as Colonel Dyer
- 1935 · A Tale of Two Cities as Jarvis Lorry
- 1935 · Together We Live as Dick
- 1935 · Calm Yourself as Col. Allenby
- 1935 · Baby Face Harrington as Colton
- 1935 · Mississippi as Gen. Rumford
- 1935 · The Woman in Red as Grandpa Wyatt
- 1934 · Strange Wives as Guggins
- 1934 · The Captain Hates the Sea as Judge Griswold
- 1934 · Green Eyes as Steven Kester
- 1934 · In Love with Life as Morley
- 1934 · Unknown Blonde as Papa Van Brunt, Sr.
- 1934 · City Limits as Tom Oliver
- 1934 · The Show-Off as J.B. Preston
- 1934 · You Can't Buy Everything as Asa Cabot - Banker
- 1933 · Before Midnight as John Fry
- 1933 · Back Page as Sam Webster
- 1933 · I Loved a Woman as Banker (uncredited)
- 1933 · Skyway as John Beaumont
- 1933 · The Avenger as Witt
- 1933 · Ann Carver's Profession as Judge Bingham
- 1932 · Tess of the Storm Country as Frederick Garfield Sr
- 1932 · Running Hollywood as Claude Gillingwater
- 1931 · The Wide Open Spaces as Judge
- 1931 · Compromised as John Brock
- 1931 · How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 8: 'The Brassie' as
- 1931 · Gold Dust Gertie as John Aberdeen Arnold
- 1931 · Daddy Long Legs as Riggs
- 1931 · The Conquering Horde as Jim Nabours
- 1931 · Illicit as Richard Ives Sr.
- 1931 · Kiss Me Again as Count de St. Cyr
- 1930 · The Flirting Widow as Faraday
- 1930 · Dumb-bells in Ermine as Uncle Roger
- 1929 · Mexicali Rose as (uncredited)
- 1929 · So Long Letty as Uncle Claude Davis
- 1929 · The Great Divide as Winthrop Amesbury
- 1929 · Smiling Irish Eyes as Michael O'Connor
- 1929 · Glad Rag Doll as Sam Underlane
- 1929 · Stolen Kisses as H.A. Lambert Sr.
- 1929 · Stark Mad as James Rutherford - Expedition Leader
- 1928 · Oh Kay! as Judge Appleton
- 1928 · Women They Talk About as Grandfather Mervin
- 1927 · Husbands for Rent as Sir Reginald Knight
- 1927 · The Gorilla as Cyrus Townsend
- 1927 · Barbed Wire as Jean Moreau
- 1927 · Naughty But Nice as Judge J. R. Altewood
- 1927 · Fast and Furious as Smithfield
- 1926 · 45 Minutes from Hollywood as Old Man in Hotel Bed (uncredited)
- 1926 · Into Her Kingdom as Ivan
- 1926 · That's My Baby as John Raynor
- 1925 · We Moderns as Sir Robert Sundale
- 1925 · Seven Sinners as Pious Joe McDowell
- 1925 · Winds of Chance as Tom Linton
- 1925 · A Thief in Paradise as Noel Jardine
- 1925 · Cheaper to Marry as Riddle
- 1924 · Idle Tongues as Judge Daniel Webster Copeland
- 1924 · Madonna of the Streets as Lord Patrington
- 1924 · How to Educate a Wife as Henry Bancks
- 1924 · Daddies as James Crockett
- 1923 · Tiger Rose as Hector McCollins
- 1923 · A Chapter in Her Life as Mr. Everingham
- 1923 · Dulcy as Mr. Forbes
- 1923 · Three Wise Fools as Theodore Findley
- 1923 · Souls for Sale as Self - Celebrity Actor (uncredited)
- 1923 · Crinoline and Romance as Col. Charles E. Cavanaugh
- 1923 · The Christian as Lord Storm
- 1922 · The Strangers' Banquet as Uncle Sam
- 1922 · Remembrance as John P. Grout
- 1922 · Fools First as Denton Drew
- 1921 · My Boy as Captain Bill
- 1921 · Little Lord Fauntleroy as Earl of Dorincourt