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)
Acted in 86
1930s
- 1939
Cafe Society
Old Christopher West
- 1938
Just Around the Corner
Samuel G. Henshaw
There Goes My Heart
Cyrus W. Butterfield
- 1937
Conquest
Stephan
Top of the Town
William Borden
- 1936
Can This Be Dixie?
Col. Robert Peachtree
Wives Never Know
Mr. Gossamer
Poor Little Rich Girl
Simon Peck
Ticket to Paradise
Robert Forbes
Counterfeit
Tom Perkins
Florida Special
Simeon Stafford
- 1935
Together We Live
Dick
Calm Yourself
Col. Allenby
Baby Face Harrington
Colton
Mississippi
General Rumford
- 1934
Strange Wives
Guggins
The Captain Hates the Sea
Judge Griswold
Green Eyes
Steven Kester
In Love with Life
Morley
Unknown Blonde
Papa Van Brunt, Sr.
City Limits
Tom Oliver
The Show-Off
J.B. Preston
You Can't Buy Everything
Asa Cabot - Banker
- 1933
Before Midnight
John Fry
Back Page
Sam Webster
I Loved a Woman
Banker (uncredited)
Skyway
John Beaumont
The Avenger
Witt
Ann Carver's Profession
Bingham
- 1932
Tess of the Storm Country
Frederick Garfield Sr
- 1931
The Wide Open Spaces
Judge
Compromised
John Brock
How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 8: 'The Brassie'
Movie
Gold Dust Gertie
John Aberdeen Arnold
Daddy Long Legs
Riggs
The Conquering Horde
Jim Nabours
Illicit
Richard Ives Sr.
Kiss Me Again
Count de St. Cyr
- 1930
The Flirting Widow
Faraday
Dumb-bells in Ermine
Uncle Roger
1920s
- 1929
Mexicali Rose
(uncredited)
So Long Letty
Uncle Claude Davis
Smiling Irish Eyes
Michael O'Connor
Glad Rag Doll
Sam Underlane
Stolen Kisses
H.A. Lambert Sr.
Stark Mad
James Rutherford - Expedition Leader
- 1928
Oh Kay!
Judge Appleton
Women They Talk About
Grandfather Mervin
- 1927
Husbands for Rent
Sir Reginald Knight
The Gorilla
Cyrus Townsend
Barbed Wire
Jean Moreau
Naughty But Nice
Judge J. R. Altewood
Fast and Furious
Smithfield
- 1926
45 Minutes from Hollywood
Old Man in Hotel Bed (uncredited)
For Wives Only
Professor von Waldstein
Into Her Kingdom
Ivan
- 1925
Wages for Wives
Jim Bailey
We Moderns
Sir Robert Sundale
Seven Sinners
Pious Joe McDowell
Winds of Chance
Tom Linton
A Thief in Paradise
Noel Jardine
Cheaper to Marry
Riddle
- 1924
Idle Tongues
Judge Daniel Webster Copeland
Madonna of the Streets
Lord Patrington
How to Educate a Wife
Henry Bancks
Daddies
James Crockett
- 1923
Tiger Rose
Hector McCollins
A Chapter in Her Life
Mr. Everingham
Dulcy
Mr. Forbes
Three Wise Fools
Theodore Findley
Crinoline and Romance
Col. Charles E. Cavanaugh
The Christian
Lord Storm
- 1922
The Strangers' Banquet
Uncle Sam
Remembrance
John P. Grout
The Dust Flower
Movie
Fools First
Denton Drew
- 1921
My Boy
Captain Bill
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Earl of Dorincourt
1910s
- 1918
Wild Primrose
Standish
Appearances1
1920s
- 1923
Souls for Sale
Self - Celebrity Actor (uncredited)