Acting · Louisiana, Missouri, USA · Born August 1, 1870
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)
MovieCafe Society
1939
as Old Christopher West
MovieJust Around the Corner
1938
as Samuel G. Henshaw
MovieThere Goes My Heart
1938
as Cyrus W. Butterfield
MovieLittle Miss Broadway
1938
as Judge
MovieA Yank at Oxford
1938
as Ben Dalton
MovieConquest
1937
as Stephan
MovieTop of the Town
1937
as William Borden
MovieCan This Be Dixie?
1936
as Col. Robert Peachtree
MovieWives Never Know
1936
as Mr. Gossamer
MoviePoor Little Rich Girl
1936
as Simon Peck
MovieTicket to Paradise
1936
as Robert Forbes
MovieCounterfeit
1936
as Tom Perkins
MovieFlorida Special
1936
as Simeon Stafford
MovieThe Prisoner of Shark Island
1936
as Colonel Dyer
MovieA Tale of Two Cities
1935
as Jarvis Lorry
MovieTogether We Live
1935
as Dick
MovieCalm Yourself
1935
as Col. Allenby
MovieBaby Face Harrington
1935
as Colton
MovieMississippi
1935
as General Rumford
MovieThe Woman in Red
1935
as Grandpa Wyatt
MovieStrange Wives
1934
as Guggins
MovieThe Captain Hates the Sea
1934
as Judge Griswold
MovieGreen Eyes
1934
as Steven Kester
MovieIn Love with Life
1934
as Morley
MovieUnknown Blonde
1934
as Papa Van Brunt, Sr.
MovieCity Limits
1934
as Tom Oliver
MovieThe Show-Off
1934
as J.B. Preston
MovieYou Can't Buy Everything
1934
as Asa Cabot - Banker
MovieBefore Midnight
1933
as John Fry
MovieBack Page
1933
as Sam Webster
MovieI Loved a Woman
1933
as Banker (uncredited)
MovieSkyway
1933
as John Beaumont
MovieThe Avenger
1933
as Witt
MovieAnn Carver's Profession
1933
as Bingham
MovieTess of the Storm Country
1932
as Frederick Garfield Sr
Running Hollywood
1932
as Claude Gillingwater
MovieThe Wide Open Spaces
1931
as Judge
MovieCompromised
1931
as John Brock
MovieHow I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 8: 'The Brassie'
1931
MovieGold Dust Gertie
1931
as John Aberdeen Arnold
MovieDaddy Long Legs
1931
as Riggs
MovieThe Conquering Horde
1931
as Jim Nabours
MovieIllicit
1931
as Richard Ives Sr.
MovieKiss Me Again
1931
as Count de St. Cyr
MovieThe Flirting Widow
1930
as Faraday
MovieDumb-bells in Ermine
1930
as Uncle Roger
MovieMexicali Rose
1929
as (uncredited)
MovieSo Long Letty
1929
as Uncle Claude Davis
MovieThe Great Divide
1929
as Winthrop Amesbury
MovieSmiling Irish Eyes
1929
as Michael O'Connor
MovieGlad Rag Doll
1929
as Sam Underlane
MovieStolen Kisses
1929
as H.A. Lambert Sr.
MovieStark Mad
1929
as James Rutherford - Expedition Leader
MovieOh Kay!
1928
as Judge Appleton
MovieWomen They Talk About
1928
as Grandfather Mervin
MovieHusbands for Rent
1927
as Sir Reginald Knight
MovieThe Gorilla
1927
as Cyrus Townsend
MovieBarbed Wire
1927
as Jean Moreau
MovieNaughty But Nice
1927
as Judge J. R. Altewood
MovieFast and Furious
1927
as Smithfield
Movie45 Minutes from Hollywood
1926
as Old Man in Hotel Bed (uncredited)
MovieFor Wives Only
1926
as Professor von Waldstein
MovieInto Her Kingdom
1926
as Ivan
That's My Baby
1926
as John Raynor
MovieWages for Wives
1925
as Jim Bailey
MovieWe Moderns
1925
as Sir Robert Sundale
MovieSeven Sinners
1925
as Pious Joe McDowell
MovieWinds of Chance
1925
as Tom Linton
MovieA Thief in Paradise
1925
as Noel Jardine
MovieCheaper to Marry
1925
as Riddle
MovieIdle Tongues
1924
as Judge Daniel Webster Copeland
MovieMadonna of the Streets
1924
as Lord Patrington
MovieHow to Educate a Wife
1924
as Henry Bancks
MovieDaddies
1924
as James Crockett
MovieTiger Rose
1923
as Hector McCollins
MovieA Chapter in Her Life
1923
as Mr. Everingham
MovieDulcy
1923
as Mr. Forbes
MovieThree Wise Fools
1923
as Theodore Findley
MovieSouls for Sale
1923
as Self - Celebrity Actor (uncredited)
MovieAlice Adams
1923
as Virgil Adams
MovieCrinoline and Romance
1923
as Col. Charles E. Cavanaugh
MovieThe Christian
1923
as Lord Storm
MovieThe Strangers' Banquet
1922
as Uncle Sam
MovieRemembrance
1922
as John P. Grout
MovieThe Dust Flower
1922
MovieFools First
1922
as Denton Drew
MovieMy Boy
1921
as Captain Bill
MovieLittle Lord Fauntleroy
1921
as Earl of Dorincourt
MovieWild Primrose
1918
as Standish
