Claude Gillingwater

Acting · 0.4 popularity

Age

156

Movies

Born: August 1, 1870 – November 2, 1939
From: 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)

Works

89 films

A Tale of Two Cities

19356.8

The Prisoner of Shark Island

19366.9

Wild Primrose

19187.0

A Yank at Oxford

19386.7

Unknown Blonde

19343.3

Conquest

19376.6

The Woman in Red

19356.0

Husbands for Rent

192710.0

Oh Kay!

19287.0

Alice Adams

19239.0

Souls for Sale

19236.3

There Goes My Heart

19387.3

Little Miss Broadway

19386.5

Daddies

19246.0

Mississippi

19356.8

Florida Special

19367.0

Before Midnight

19334.6

The Show-Off

19346.3

Cafe Society

19397.5

Poor Little Rich Girl

19366.6

Tess of the Storm Country

19327.0

Baby Face Harrington

19355.4

Little Lord Fauntleroy

19217.0

You Can't Buy Everything

19348.0

Running Hollywood

19329.0

Strange Wives

19347.0

Ann Carver's Profession

19337.0

Just Around the Corner

19385.8

Daddy Long Legs

19314.8

Glad Rag Doll

19299.0

Calm Yourself

19356.0

I Loved a Woman

19334.8

Stark Mad

19295.5

Illicit

19315.7

We Moderns

192510.0

Madonna of the Streets

19249.0

Naughty But Nice

19279.0

Into Her Kingdom

19269.0

For Wives Only

192610.0

Crinoline and Romance

19237.0

Skyway

19335.8

The Gorilla

192710.0

Dumb-bells in Ermine

19305.7

45 Minutes from Hollywood

19265.3

Counterfeit

19366.3

Ticket to Paradise

19367.5

The Captain Hates the Sea

19346.4

So Long Letty

19296.3

Wives Never Know

19369.0

Barbed Wire

19276.8

Back Page

19337.0

Can This Be Dixie?

19367.0

My Boy

19216.1

Kiss Me Again

19318.0

Remembrance

19229.0

Three Wise Fools

192310.0

Top of the Town

19376.0

How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 8: 'The Brassie'

19317.0

Together We Live

19357.0

In Love with Life

19346.0

A Chapter in Her Life

19236.5

Wages for Wives

19257.0

The Conquering Horde

19317.0

Winds of Chance

19256.5

Smiling Irish Eyes

19299.0

Tiger Rose

19235.4

Gold Dust Gertie

19316.0

Seven Sinners

19256.5

Mexicali Rose

19295.6

The Wide Open Spaces

19317.0

Fools First

19228.0

The Avenger

19338.0

Fast and Furious

19274.5

Stolen Kisses

19296.3

The Christian

192310.0

Green Eyes

19345.8

How to Educate a Wife

19249.0

Cheaper to Marry

19257.0

The Great Divide

19295.3

The Flirting Widow

19305.7

The Strangers' Banquet

192210.0

Compromised

19314.0

A Thief in Paradise

19256.5

Dulcy

19237.0

City Limits

19345.5

Idle Tongues

19249.0

Women They Talk About

19287.0

That's My Baby

19269.0

The Dust Flower

19228.0