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