Claude Gillingwater
Biography
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)
Personal Details
Also Known As
Movies (50)
Cafe Society
as Old Christopher West
1939
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
1938
Conquest
as Stephan
1937
Top of the Town
as William Borden
1937
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
1936
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 General Rumford
1935
The Woman in Red
as Grandpa Wyatt
1935
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
1934
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 Bingham
1933
Tess of the Storm Country
as Frederick Garfield Sr
1932
Running Hollywood
as Claude Gillingwater
1932
The Wide Open Spaces
as Judge
1931
Compromised
as John Brock
1931
How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 8: 'The Brassie'
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
1931
The Flirting Widow
as Faraday
1930
Dumb-bells in Ermine
as Uncle Roger
1930
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