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)

Known For

A Tale of Two Cities

The Prisoner of Shark Island

Alice Adams

Conquest

Mississippi

Baby Face Harrington

There Goes My Heart

The Woman in Red

All Movies (89)

• Cafe Society1939 · as Old Christopher West
• Just Around the Corner1938 · as Samuel G. Henshaw
• There Goes My Heart1938 · as Cyrus W. Butterfield
• Little Miss Broadway1938 · as Judge
• A Yank at Oxford1938 · as Ben Dalton
• Conquest1937 · as Stephan
• Top of the Town1937 · as William Borden
• Can This Be Dixie?1936 · as Col. Robert Peachtree
• Wives Never Know1936 · as Mr. Gossamer
• Poor Little Rich Girl1936 · as Simon Peck
• Ticket to Paradise1936 · as Robert Forbes
• Counterfeit1936 · as Tom Perkins
• Florida Special1936 · as Simeon Stafford
• The Prisoner of Shark Island1936 · as Colonel Dyer
• A Tale of Two Cities1935 · as Jarvis Lorry
• Together We Live1935 · as Dick
• Calm Yourself1935 · as Col. Allenby
• Baby Face Harrington1935 · as Colton
• Mississippi1935 · as General Rumford
• The Woman in Red1935 · as Grandpa Wyatt
• Strange Wives1934 · as Guggins
• The Captain Hates the Sea1934 · as Judge Griswold
• Green Eyes1934 · as Steven Kester
• In Love with Life1934 · as Morley
• Unknown Blonde1934 · as Papa Van Brunt, Sr.
• City Limits1934 · as Tom Oliver
• The Show-Off1934 · as J.B. Preston
• You Can't Buy Everything1934 · as Asa Cabot - Banker
• Before Midnight1933 · as John Fry
• Back Page1933 · as Sam Webster
• I Loved a Woman1933 · as Banker (uncredited)
• Skyway1933 · as John Beaumont
• The Avenger1933 · as Witt
• Ann Carver's Profession1933 · as Bingham
• Tess of the Storm Country1932 · as Frederick Garfield Sr
• Running Hollywood1932 · as Claude Gillingwater
• The Wide Open Spaces1931 · as Judge
• Compromised1931 · as John Brock
• How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 8: 'The Brassie'1931
• Gold Dust Gertie1931 · as John Aberdeen Arnold
• Daddy Long Legs1931 · as Riggs
• The Conquering Horde1931 · as Jim Nabours
• Illicit1931 · as Richard Ives Sr.
• Kiss Me Again1931 · as Count de St. Cyr
• The Flirting Widow1930 · as Faraday
• Dumb-bells in Ermine1930 · as Uncle Roger
• Mexicali Rose1929 · as (uncredited)
• So Long Letty1929 · as Uncle Claude Davis
• The Great Divide1929 · as Winthrop Amesbury
• Smiling Irish Eyes1929 · as Michael O'Connor
• Glad Rag Doll1929 · as Sam Underlane
• Stolen Kisses1929 · as H.A. Lambert Sr.
• Stark Mad1929 · as James Rutherford - Expedition Leader
• Oh Kay!1928 · as Judge Appleton
• Women They Talk About1928 · as Grandfather Mervin
• Husbands for Rent1927 · as Sir Reginald Knight
• The Gorilla1927 · as Cyrus Townsend
• Barbed Wire1927 · as Jean Moreau
• Naughty But Nice1927 · as Judge J. R. Altewood
• Fast and Furious1927 · as Smithfield
• 45 Minutes from Hollywood1926 · as Old Man in Hotel Bed (uncredited)
• For Wives Only1926 · as Professor von Waldstein
• Into Her Kingdom1926 · as Ivan
• That's My Baby1926 · as John Raynor
• Wages for Wives1925 · as Jim Bailey
• We Moderns1925 · as Sir Robert Sundale
• Seven Sinners1925 · as Pious Joe McDowell
• Winds of Chance1925 · as Tom Linton
• A Thief in Paradise1925 · as Noel Jardine
• Cheaper to Marry1925 · as Riddle
• Idle Tongues1924 · as Judge Daniel Webster Copeland
• Madonna of the Streets1924 · as Lord Patrington
• How to Educate a Wife1924 · as Henry Bancks
• Daddies1924 · as James Crockett
• Tiger Rose1923 · as Hector McCollins
• A Chapter in Her Life1923 · as Mr. Everingham
• Dulcy1923 · as Mr. Forbes
• Three Wise Fools1923 · as Theodore Findley
• Souls for Sale1923 · as Self - Celebrity Actor (uncredited)
• Alice Adams1923 · as Virgil Adams
• Crinoline and Romance1923 · as Col. Charles E. Cavanaugh
• The Christian1923 · as Lord Storm
• The Strangers' Banquet1922 · as Uncle Sam
• Remembrance1922 · as John P. Grout
• The Dust Flower1922
• Fools First1922 · as Denton Drew
• My Boy1921 · as Captain Bill
• Little Lord Fauntleroy1921 · as Earl of Dorincourt
• Wild Primrose1918 · as Standish