7.1
7.1
There Goes My Heart
1938
as Cyrus W. Butterfield
Claude Gillingwater
Also known as: Claude Benton Gillingwater
Acting
Born:August 1, 1870
Died:November 2, 1939(aged 69)
Birthplace:Louisiana, Missouri, USA
Nationality:United States
N/A
CommunityBiography
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 (87 movies)
7.0
7.0
Little Lord Fauntleroy
1921
as Earl of Dorincourt
7.0
7.0
You Can't Buy Everything
1934
as Asa Cabot - Banker
6.8
6.8
The Prisoner of Shark Island
1936
as Colonel Dyer
6.8
6.8
A Tale of Two Cities
1935
as Jarvis Lorry
6.7
6.7
Mississippi
1935
as General Rumford
6.7
6.7
A Yank at Oxford
1938
as Ben Dalton
6.6
6.6
Poor Little Rich Girl
1936
as Simon Peck
6.5
6.5
Conquest
1937
as Stephan
6.5
6.5
Little Miss Broadway
1938
as Judge
6.4
6.4
Back Page
1933
as Sam Webster
6.3
6.3
Ann Carver's Profession
1933
as Bingham
6.2
6.2
Barbed Wire
1927
as Jean Moreau
6.0
6.0
Florida Special
1936
as Simeon Stafford
6.0
6.0
Counterfeit
1936
as Tom Perkins
6.0
6.0
The Avenger
1933
as Witt
6.0
6.0
Kiss Me Again
1931
as Count de St. Cyr
6.0
6.0
A Thief in Paradise
1925
as Noel Jardine
6.0
6.0
Tess of the Storm Country
1932
as Frederick Garfield Sr
6.0
6.0
Cafe Society
1939
as Old Christopher West
6.0
6.0
The Woman in Red
1935
as Grandpa Wyatt
6.0
6.0
Ticket to Paradise
1936
as Robert Forbes
6.0
6.0
Seven Sinners
1925
as Pious Joe McDowell
6.0
6.0
A Chapter in Her Life
1923
as Mr. Everingham
5.9
5.9
My Boy
1921
as Captain Bill
5.9
5.9
So Long Letty
1929
as Uncle Claude Davis
5.8
5.8
The Captain Hates the Sea
1934
as Judge Griswold
5.7
5.7
The Show-Off
1934
as J.B. Preston
5.6
5.6
Illicit
1931
as Richard Ives Sr.
5.5
5.5
Just Around the Corner
1938
as Samuel G. Henshaw
5.2
5.2
Green Eyes
1934
as Steven Kester
5.2
5.2
Mexicali Rose
1929
as (uncredited)
5.2
5.2
45 Minutes from Hollywood
1926
as Old Man in Hotel Bed (uncredited)
5.2
5.2
Skyway
1933
as John Beaumont
5.2
5.2
Top of the Town
1937
as William Borden
5.0
5.0
Daddies
1924
as James Crockett
5.0
5.0
Stolen Kisses
1929
as H.A. Lambert Sr.
5.0
5.0
The Conquering Horde
1931
as Jim Nabours
5.0
5.0
In Love with Life
1934
as Morley
4.8
4.8
Winds of Chance
1925
as Tom Linton
4.8
4.8
The Great Divide
1929
as Winthrop Amesbury
4.8
4.8
Baby Face Harrington
1935
as Colton
4.5
4.5
I Loved a Woman
1933
as Banker (uncredited)
4.5
4.5
Tiger Rose
1923
as Hector McCollins
4.5
4.5
Calm Yourself
1935
as Col. Allenby
4.2
4.2
Before Midnight
1933
as John Fry
4.0
4.0
Dumb-bells in Ermine
1930
as Uncle Roger
4.0
4.0
City Limits
1934
as Tom Oliver
4.0
4.0
The Flirting Widow
1930
as Faraday
4.0
4.0
Daddy Long Legs
1931
as Riggs
3.0
3.0
Stark Mad
1929
as James Rutherford - Expedition Leader
3.0
3.0
Gold Dust Gertie
1931
as John Aberdeen Arnold
1.0
1.0
Unknown Blonde
1934
as Papa Van Brunt, Sr.
1.0
1.0
Compromised
1931
as John Brock
1.0
1.0
Fast and Furious
1927
as Smithfield
For Wives Only
1926
as Professor von Waldstein
Can This Be Dixie?
1936
as Col. Robert Peachtree
How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 8: 'The Brassie'
1931
Remembrance
1922
as John P. Grout
The Christian
1923
as Lord Storm
Three Wise Fools
1923
as Theodore Findley
How to Educate a Wife
1924
as Henry Bancks
Naughty But Nice
1927
as Judge J. R. Altewood
The Gorilla
1927
as Cyrus Townsend
Together We Live
1935
as Dick
Smiling Irish Eyes
1929
as Michael O'Connor
We Moderns
1925
as Sir Robert Sundale
Women They Talk About
1928
as Grandfather Mervin
Glad Rag Doll
1929
as Sam Underlane
Crinoline and Romance
1923
as Col. Charles E. Cavanaugh
Oh Kay!
1928
as Judge Appleton
Wives Never Know
1936
as Mr. Gossamer
Husbands for Rent
1927
as Sir Reginald Knight
Running Hollywood
1932
as Claude Gillingwater
Into Her Kingdom
1926
as Ivan
Madonna of the Streets
1924
as Lord Patrington
Cheaper to Marry
1925
as Riddle
Dulcy
1923
as Mr. Forbes
Fools First
1922
as Denton Drew
The Wide Open Spaces
1931
as Judge
The Strangers' Banquet
1922
as Uncle Sam
That's My Baby
1926
as John Raynor
Strange Wives
1934
as Guggins
Idle Tongues
1924
as Judge Daniel Webster Copeland
Wages for Wives
1925
as Jim Bailey
Alice Adams
1923
as Virgil Adams
The Dust Flower
1922
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