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