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
Stephan
Conquest
John Raynor
That's My Baby
Samuel G. Henshaw
Just Around the Corner
Denton Drew
Fools First
Dick
Together We Live
Cyrus W. Butterfield
There Goes My Heart
Captain Bill
My Boy
James Rutherford - Expedition Leader
Stark Mad
Colonel Dyer
The Prisoner of Shark Island
Steven Kester
Green Eyes
Banker (uncredited)
I Loved a Woman
Richard Ives Sr.
Illicit
Winthrop Amesbury
The Great Divide
General Rumford
Mississippi
Uncle Claude Davis
So Long Letty
John Fry
Before Midnight
Earl of Dorincourt
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Morley
In Love with Life
Sam Webster
Back Page
Robert Forbes
Ticket to Paradise
John Aberdeen Arnold
Gold Dust Gertie
Bingham
Ann Carver's Profession
Tom Linton
Winds of Chance
Uncle Roger
Dumb-bells in Ermine
Faraday
The Flirting Widow
Riggs
Daddy Long Legs
Claude Gillingwater
Running Hollywood
Judge
Little Miss Broadway
Frederick Garfield Sr
Tess of the Storm Country
Count de St. Cyr
Kiss Me Again
James Crockett
Daddies
Col. Allenby
Calm Yourself
Judge
The Wide Open Spaces
Colton
Baby Face Harrington
Judge Griswold
The Captain Hates the Sea
John P. Grout
Remembrance
Lord Storm
The Christian
John Beaumont
Skyway
Noel Jardine
A Thief in Paradise
Simon Peck
Poor Little Rich Girl
Theodore Findley
Three Wise Fools
Henry Bancks
How to Educate a Wife
Guggins
Strange Wives
Self - Celebrity Actor (uncredited)
Souls for Sale
Uncle Sam
The Strangers' Banquet
J.B. Preston
The Show-Off
Tom Oliver
City Limits
Old Christopher West
Cafe Society
Simeon Stafford
Florida Special
Ben Dalton
A Yank at Oxford
Old Man in Hotel Bed (uncredited)
45 Minutes from Hollywood
(uncredited)
Mexicali Rose
John Brock
Compromised
Grandpa Wyatt
The Woman in Red
Tom Perkins
Counterfeit
Sir Reginald Knight
Husbands for Rent
Jean Moreau
Barbed Wire
Papa Van Brunt, Sr.
Unknown Blonde
William Borden
Top of the Town
Hector McCollins
Tiger Rose
Pious Joe McDowell
Seven Sinners
Judge J. R. Altewood
Naughty But Nice
Sir Robert Sundale
We Moderns
Grandfather Mervin
Women They Talk About
H.A. Lambert Sr.
Stolen Kisses
Sam Underlane
Glad Rag Doll
Cyrus Townsend
The Gorilla
Witt
The Avenger
Asa Cabot - Banker
You Can't Buy Everything
Col. Charles E. Cavanaugh
Crinoline and Romance
How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 8: 'The Brassie'
Judge Appleton
Oh Kay!
Jim Nabours
The Conquering Horde
Mr. Gossamer
Wives Never Know
Mr. Everingham
A Chapter in Her Life
Ivan
Into Her Kingdom
Lord Patrington
Madonna of the Streets
Riddle
Cheaper to Marry
Smithfield
Fast and Furious
Mr. Forbes
Dulcy
Jarvis Lorry
A Tale of Two Cities
Col. Robert Peachtree
Can This Be Dixie?
Judge Daniel Webster Copeland
Idle Tongues
Michael O'Connor
Smiling Irish Eyes
Jim Bailey
Wages for Wives
Virgil Adams
Alice Adams
The Dust Flower
Professor von Waldstein
For Wives Only
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
88
Gender
Male
Birthday
1870-08-01
Place of Birth
Louisiana, Missouri, USA
Also Known As
Claude Benton Gillingwater