Claude Gillingwater
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- August 1, 1870
- Died
- November 2, 1939
- Birthplace
- 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)
Filmography
Cafe Society 1939
as Old Christopher West
Just Around the Corner 1938
as Samuel G. Henshaw
There Goes My Heart 1938
as Cyrus W. Butterfield
Little Miss Broadway 1938
as Judge
A Yank at Oxford 1938
as Ben Dalton
Conquest 1937
as Stephan
Top of the Town 1937
as William Borden
Can This Be Dixie? 1936
as Col. Robert Peachtree
Wives Never Know 1936
as Mr. Gossamer
Poor Little Rich Girl 1936
as Simon Peck
Ticket to Paradise 1936
as Robert Forbes
Counterfeit 1936
as Tom Perkins
Florida Special 1936
as Simeon Stafford
The Prisoner of Shark Island 1936
as Colonel Dyer
A Tale of Two Cities 1935
as Jarvis Lorry
Together We Live 1935
as Dick
Calm Yourself 1935
as Col. Allenby
Baby Face Harrington 1935
as Colton
Mississippi 1935
as General Rumford
The Woman in Red 1935
as Grandpa Wyatt
Strange Wives 1934
as Guggins
The Captain Hates the Sea 1934
as Judge Griswold
Green Eyes 1934
as Steven Kester
In Love with Life 1934
as Morley
Unknown Blonde 1934
as Papa Van Brunt, Sr.
City Limits 1934
as Tom Oliver
The Show-Off 1934
as J.B. Preston
You Can't Buy Everything 1934
as Asa Cabot - Banker
Before Midnight 1933
as John Fry
Back Page 1933
as Sam Webster
I Loved a Woman 1933
as Banker (uncredited)
Skyway 1933
as John Beaumont
The Avenger 1933
as Witt
Ann Carver's Profession 1933
as Bingham
Tess of the Storm Country 1932
as Frederick Garfield Sr
- Running Hollywood
Running Hollywood 1932
as Claude Gillingwater
The Wide Open Spaces 1931
as Judge
Compromised 1931
as John Brock
How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 8: 'The Brassie' 1931
Actor
Gold Dust Gertie 1931
as John Aberdeen Arnold
Daddy Long Legs 1931
as Riggs
The Conquering Horde 1931
as Jim Nabours
Illicit 1931
as Richard Ives Sr.
Kiss Me Again 1931
as Count de St. Cyr
The Flirting Widow 1930
as Faraday
Dumb-bells in Ermine 1930
as Uncle Roger
Mexicali Rose 1929
as (uncredited)
So Long Letty 1929
as Uncle Claude Davis
The Great Divide 1929
as Winthrop Amesbury
Smiling Irish Eyes 1929
as Michael O'Connor
Glad Rag Doll 1929
as Sam Underlane
Stolen Kisses 1929
as H.A. Lambert Sr.
Stark Mad 1929
as James Rutherford - Expedition Leader
Oh Kay! 1928
as Judge Appleton
Women They Talk About 1928
as Grandfather Mervin
Husbands for Rent 1927
as Sir Reginald Knight
The Gorilla 1927
as Cyrus Townsend
Barbed Wire 1927
as Jean Moreau
Naughty But Nice 1927
as Judge J. R. Altewood
Fast and Furious 1927
as Smithfield
45 Minutes from Hollywood 1926
as Old Man in Hotel Bed (uncredited)
For Wives Only 1926
as Professor von Waldstein
Into Her Kingdom 1926
as Ivan
- That's My Baby
That's My Baby 1926
as John Raynor
Wages for Wives 1925
as Jim Bailey
We Moderns 1925
as Sir Robert Sundale
Seven Sinners 1925
as Pious Joe McDowell
Winds of Chance 1925
as Tom Linton
A Thief in Paradise 1925
as Noel Jardine
Cheaper to Marry 1925
as Riddle
Idle Tongues 1924
as Judge Daniel Webster Copeland
Madonna of the Streets 1924
as Lord Patrington
How to Educate a Wife 1924
as Henry Bancks
Daddies 1924
as James Crockett
Tiger Rose 1923
as Hector McCollins
A Chapter in Her Life 1923
as Mr. Everingham
Dulcy 1923
as Mr. Forbes
Three Wise Fools 1923
as Theodore Findley
Souls for Sale 1923
as Self - Celebrity Actor (uncredited)
Alice Adams 1923
as Virgil Adams
Crinoline and Romance 1923
as Col. Charles E. Cavanaugh
The Christian 1923
as Lord Storm
The Strangers' Banquet 1922
as Uncle Sam
Remembrance 1922
as John P. Grout
The Dust Flower 1922
Actor
Fools First 1922
as Denton Drew
My Boy 1921
as Captain Bill
Little Lord Fauntleroy 1921
as Earl of Dorincourt
Wild Primrose 1918
as Standish
Credits from TMDB.