Claude Gillingwater
Born
August 1, 1870
Died
November 2, 1939 (69 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
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)
Known For
Cafe Society
Old Christopher West
1939
Just Around the Corner
Samuel G. Henshaw
1938
There Goes My Heart
Cyrus W. Butterfield
1938
Little Miss Broadway
Judge
1938
A Yank at Oxford
Ben Dalton
1938
Conquest
Stephan
1937
Top of the Town
William Borden
1937
Can This Be Dixie?
Col. Robert Peachtree
1936
Wives Never Know
Mr. Gossamer
1936
Poor Little Rich Girl
Simon Peck
1936
Ticket to Paradise
Robert Forbes
1936
Counterfeit
Tom Perkins
1936
Florida Special
Simeon Stafford
1936
The Prisoner of Shark Island
Colonel Dyer
1936
A Tale of Two Cities
Jarvis Lorry
1935
Together We Live
Dick
1935
Calm Yourself
Col. Allenby
1935
Baby Face Harrington
Colton
1935
Mississippi
General Rumford
1935
The Woman in Red
Grandpa Wyatt
1935
Strange Wives
Guggins
1934
The Captain Hates the Sea
Judge Griswold
1934
Green Eyes
Steven Kester
1934
In Love with Life
Morley
1934
Unknown Blonde
Papa Van Brunt, Sr.
1934
City Limits
Tom Oliver
1934
The Show-Off
J.B. Preston
1934
You Can't Buy Everything
Asa Cabot - Banker
1934
Before Midnight
John Fry
1933
Back Page
Sam Webster
1933
I Loved a Woman
Banker (uncredited)
1933
Skyway
John Beaumont
1933
The Avenger
Witt
1933
Ann Carver's Profession
Judge Bingham
1933
Tess of the Storm Country
Frederick Garfield Sr
1932
Running Hollywood
Claude Gillingwater
1932
The Wide Open Spaces
Judge
1931
Compromised
John Brock
1931
How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 8: 'The Brassie'
1931
Gold Dust Gertie
John Aberdeen Arnold
1931
Daddy Long Legs
Riggs
1931
The Conquering Horde
Jim Nabours
1931
Illicit
Richard Ives Sr.
1931
Kiss Me Again
Count de St. Cyr
1931
The Flirting Widow
Faraday
1930
Dumb-bells in Ermine
Uncle Roger
1930
Mexicali Rose
(uncredited)
1929
So Long Letty
Uncle Claude Davis
1929
The Great Divide
Winthrop Amesbury
1929
Smiling Irish Eyes
Michael O'Connor
1929
Glad Rag Doll
Sam Underlane
1929
Stolen Kisses
H.A. Lambert Sr.
1929
Stark Mad
James Rutherford - Expedition Leader
1929
Oh Kay!
Judge Appleton
1928
Women They Talk About
Grandfather Mervin
1928
Husbands for Rent
Sir Reginald Knight
1927
The Gorilla
Cyrus Townsend
1927
Barbed Wire
Jean Moreau
1927
Naughty But Nice
Judge J. R. Altewood
1927
Fast and Furious
Smithfield
1927
45 Minutes from Hollywood
Old Man in Hotel Bed (uncredited)
1926
Into Her Kingdom
Ivan
1926
That's My Baby
John Raynor
1926
Wages for Wives
Jim Bailey
1925
We Moderns
Sir Robert Sundale
1925
Seven Sinners
Pious Joe McDowell
1925
Winds of Chance
Tom Linton
1925
A Thief in Paradise
Noel Jardine
1925
Cheaper to Marry
Riddle
1925
Idle Tongues
Judge Daniel Webster Copeland
1924
Madonna of the Streets
Lord Patrington
1924
How to Educate a Wife
Henry Bancks
1924
Daddies
James Crockett
1924
Tiger Rose
Hector McCollins
1923
A Chapter in Her Life
Mr. Everingham
1923
Dulcy
Mr. Forbes
1923
Three Wise Fools
Theodore Findley
1923
Souls for Sale
Self - Celebrity Actor (uncredited)
1923
Crinoline and Romance
Col. Charles E. Cavanaugh
1923
The Christian
Lord Storm
1923
The Strangers' Banquet
Uncle Sam
1922
Remembrance
John P. Grout
1922
Alice Adams
Virgil Adams
The Dust Flower
1922
Fools First
Denton Drew
1922
My Boy
Captain Bill
1921
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Earl of Dorincourt
1921