Claude Gillingwater
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- 1 August 1870 · Louisiana, Missouri, USA
- Died
- 2 November 1939
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
Acting 89
- 1939Cafe Society as Old Christopher West
- 1938Just Around the Corner as Samuel G. Henshaw
- 1938There Goes My Heart as Cyrus W. Butterfield
- 1938Little Miss Broadway as Judge
- 1938A Yank at Oxford as Ben Dalton
- 1937Conquest as Stephan
- 1937Top of the Town as William Borden
- 1936Can This Be Dixie? as Col. Robert Peachtree
- 1936Wives Never Know as Mr. Gossamer
- 1936Poor Little Rich Girl as Simon Peck
- 1936Ticket to Paradise as Robert Forbes
- 1936Counterfeit as Tom Perkins
- 1936Florida Special as Simeon Stafford
- 1936The Prisoner of Shark Island as Colonel Dyer
- 1935A Tale of Two Cities as Jarvis Lorry
- 1935Together We Live as Dick
- 1935Calm Yourself as Col. Allenby
- 1935Baby Face Harrington as Colton
- 1935Mississippi as General Rumford
- 1935The Woman in Red as Grandpa Wyatt
- 1934Strange Wives as Guggins
- 1934The Captain Hates the Sea as Judge Griswold
- 1934Green Eyes as Steven Kester
- 1934In Love with Life as Morley
- 1934Unknown Blonde as Papa Van Brunt, Sr.
- 1934City Limits as Tom Oliver
- 1934The Show-Off as J.B. Preston
- 1934You Can't Buy Everything as Asa Cabot - Banker
- 1933Before Midnight as John Fry
- 1933Back Page as Sam Webster
- 1933I Loved a Woman as Banker (uncredited)
- 1933Skyway as John Beaumont
- 1933The Avenger as Witt
- 1933Ann Carver's Profession as Bingham
- 1932Tess of the Storm Country as Frederick Garfield Sr
- 1932Running Hollywood as Claude Gillingwater
- 1931The Wide Open Spaces as Judge
- 1931Compromised as John Brock
- 1931How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 8: 'The Brassie'
- 1931Gold Dust Gertie as John Aberdeen Arnold
- 1931Daddy Long Legs as Riggs
- 1931The Conquering Horde as Jim Nabours
- 1931Illicit as Richard Ives Sr.
- 1931Kiss Me Again as Count de St. Cyr
- 1930The Flirting Widow as Faraday
- 1930Dumb-bells in Ermine as Uncle Roger
- 1929Mexicali Rose as (uncredited)
- 1929So Long Letty as Uncle Claude Davis
- 1929The Great Divide as Winthrop Amesbury
- 1929Smiling Irish Eyes as Michael O'Connor
- 1929Glad Rag Doll as Sam Underlane
- 1929Stolen Kisses as H.A. Lambert Sr.
- 1929Stark Mad as James Rutherford - Expedition Leader
- 1928Oh Kay! as Judge Appleton
- 1928Women They Talk About as Grandfather Mervin
- 1927Husbands for Rent as Sir Reginald Knight
- 1927The Gorilla as Cyrus Townsend
- 1927Barbed Wire as Jean Moreau
- 1927Naughty But Nice as Judge J. R. Altewood
- 1927Fast and Furious as Smithfield
- 192645 Minutes from Hollywood as Old Man in Hotel Bed (uncredited)
- 1926For Wives Only as Professor von Waldstein
- 1926Into Her Kingdom as Ivan
- 1926That's My Baby as John Raynor
- 1925Wages for Wives as Jim Bailey
- 1925We Moderns as Sir Robert Sundale
- 1925Seven Sinners as Pious Joe McDowell
- 1925Winds of Chance as Tom Linton
- 1925A Thief in Paradise as Noel Jardine
- 1925Cheaper to Marry as Riddle
- 1924Idle Tongues as Judge Daniel Webster Copeland
- 1924Madonna of the Streets as Lord Patrington
- 1924How to Educate a Wife as Henry Bancks
- 1924Daddies as James Crockett
- 1923Tiger Rose as Hector McCollins
- 1923A Chapter in Her Life as Mr. Everingham
- 1923Dulcy as Mr. Forbes
- 1923Three Wise Fools as Theodore Findley
- 1923Souls for Sale as Self - Celebrity Actor (uncredited)
- 1923Alice Adams as Virgil Adams
- 1923Crinoline and Romance as Col. Charles E. Cavanaugh
- 1923The Christian as Lord Storm
- 1922The Strangers' Banquet as Uncle Sam
- 1922Remembrance as John P. Grout
- 1922The Dust Flower
- 1922Fools First as Denton Drew
- 1921My Boy as Captain Bill
- 1921Little Lord Fauntleroy as Earl of Dorincourt
- 1918Wild Primrose as Standish