Claude Gillingwater
Claude Benton Gillingwater (August 2, 1870 – November 1, 1939) was an American stage and screen actor.[1] He first appeared on the stage then in 92 films between 1918 and 1939, including the Academy Award-nominated A Tale of Two Cities (1935) and Conquest (1937). He appeared in several films starring Shirley Temple, beginning with Poor Little Rich Girl (1936).
Claude Gillingwater | |
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Photo of Gillingwater from Film Star Who's Who on the Screen (1938) | |
Born | Louisiana, Missouri, U.S. | August 2, 1870
Died | November 1, 1939 69) | (aged
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1918–1939 |
Early life
Gillingwater was born in Louisiana, Missouri. Though he studied law, he preferred not to follow in his father's footsteps and become a lawyer. He became a travelling salesman for a wholesale firm, selling vinegar. While thus engaged he seized the opportunity of filling a vacancy in a small theatrical company with David Belasco. Eight years later, Mary Pickford saw him acting and secured him for her picture, Little Lord Fauntleroy (1921), which started off his film career.
Hollywood career
In later years, Gillingwater played a few more curmudgeonly character roles. His best-known role is probably Jarvis Lorry in A Tale of Two Cities (1935). He also appeared in Mississippi (1935) and The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936). He proved to be an excellent crabapple foil for 20th Century-Fox moppet star Shirley Temple in Poor Little Rich Girl (1936) and subsequently appeared in Just Around the Corner (1938) and Little Miss Broadway (1938).
Later years and death
A serious accident while filming Florida Special (1936) in which he fell from a platform and injured his back damaged his health and threatened his career. The "Florida Special" accident on the set at Paramount Studios in February 1936, left him never fully recovered. This, along with the April 22, 1937 death by heart attack of his long-time wife Carlyn, left him depressed.[1]
On November 1, 1939, a housekeeper found Gillingwater dead on a chair inside a closet of his Beverly Hills, California home from a self-inflicted bullet wound to the chest. A suicide note stated he was worried about his failing health and the possibility of becoming an invalid. He did not want to become a burden to anyone, so he chose to take his own life. The death of the 69-year-old actor was ruled a suicide.[1] His cremated remains were interred at the Columbarium of Prayer, Niche 10628, in The Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California.
His son, Claude Gillingwater, Jr., was also an actor.[1]
Partial filmography
- Wild Primrose (1918) - Standish
- Little Lord Fauntleroy (1921) - Earl of Dorincourt
- My Boy (1921) - The Captain
- Fools First (1922) - Denton Drew
- Dust Flower (1922) - Steptoe
- Remembrance (1922) - John P. Grout
- The Strangers' Banquet (1922) - Uncle Sam
- The Christian (1923) - Lord Storm
- Crinoline and Romance (1923) - Col. Charles E. Cavanaugh
- Alice Adams (1923) - Virgil Adams
- Three Wise Fools (1923) - Theodore Findley
- Dulcy (1923) - Mr. Forbes
- A Chapter in Her Life (1923) - Mr. Everingham
- Tiger Rose (1923) - Hector McCollins
- Souls for Sale (1923) - Himself (uncredited)
- Daddies (1924) - James Crockett
- How to Educate a Wife (1924) - Henry Bancks
- Madonna of the Streets (1924) - Lord Patrington
- Idle Tongues (1924) - Judge Daniel Webster Copeland
- A Thief in Paradise (1925) - Noel Jardine
- Cheaper to Marry (1925) - Riddle
- Winds of Chance (1925) - Tom Linton
- Seven Sinners (1925) - 'Pious Joe' McDowell
- We Moderns (1925) - Sir Robert Sundale
- Wages for Wives (1925) - Jim Bailey
- That's My Baby (1926) - John Raynor
- Into Her Kingdom (1926) - Ivan (their tutor)
- For Wives Only (1926) - Professor von Waldstein
- 45 Minutes from Hollywood (1926, Short) - Old Man in Hotel Bed (uncredited)
- Fast and Furious (1927) - Smithfield
- Naughty But Nice (1927) - Judge J. R. Altewood
- Barbed Wire (1927) - Jean Moreau
- The Gorilla (1927) - Cyrus Townsend
- Husbands for Rent (1927) - Sir Reginald Knight
- The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (1928) - Major Buford
- Women They Talk About (1928) - Grandfather Mervin
- Oh, Kay! (1928) - Judge Appleton
- Stark Mad (1929) - James Rutherford - Expedition Leader
- Stolen Kisses (1929) - H.A. Lambert Sr.
- Glad Rag Doll (1929) - Sam Underlane
- Smiling Irish Eyes (1929) - Michael O'Connor
- The Great Divide (1929) - Winthrop Amesbury
- So Long Letty (1929) - Uncle Claude Davis
- Dumbbells in Ermine (1930) - Uncle Roger
- The Flirting Widow (1930) - Faraday
- Kiss Me Again (1931) - Count de St. Cyr
- Illicit (1931) - Ives Sr.
- The Conquering Horde (1931) - Jim Nabours
- Daddy Long Legs (1931) - Riggs
- Gold Dust Gertie (1931) - John Aberdeen Arnold
- Compromised (1931) - John Brock
- Tess of the Storm Country (1932) - Frederick Garfield Sr
- Ann Carver's Profession (1933) - Judge Bingham
- The Avenger (1933) - Witt
- Skyway (1933) - John Beaumont
- I Loved a Woman (1933) - Banker (uncredited)
- Before Midnight (1933) - John Fry
- You Can't Buy Everything (1934) - Banker Asa Cabot
- The Show-Off (1934) - J.B. Preston
- City Limits (1934) - Oliver
- Unknown Blonde (1934) - Papa Van Brunt, Sr.
- In Love with Life (1934) - Morley
- Green Eyes (1934) - Steven Kester
- Back Page (1934) - Sam Webster
- The Captain Hates the Sea (1934) - Judge Griswold
- Broadway Bill (1934) - J.P. Chase
- Strange Wives (1934) - Guggins
- The Woman in Red (1935) - Grandpa Wyatt
- Mississippi (1935) - General Rumford
- Baby Face Harrington (1935) - Colton
- Calm Yourself (1935) - Col. Allenby
- Together We Live (1935) - Dick
- A Tale of Two Cities (1935) - Jarvis Lorry Jr.
- The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936) - Col. Jeremiah Milford Dyer
- Florida Special (1936) - Simeon Stafford
- Counterfeit (1936) - Tom Perkins
- Ticket to Paradise (1936) - Robert Forbes
- Poor Little Rich Girl (1936) - Simon Peck
- Wives Never Know (1936) - Mr. Gossamer
- Can This Be Dixie? (1937) - Col. Robert Peachtree
- Top of the Town (1937) - William Borden
- Conquest (1937) - Stephan (Marie's servant)
- A Yank at Oxford (1938) - Ben Dalton
- Little Miss Broadway (1938) - Judge
- There Goes My Heart (1938) - Cyrus Butterfield
- Just Around the Corner (1938) - Samuel G. Henshaw
- Cafe Society (1939) - Old Christopher West
References
- "Gillingwater's Death Shocks Film Community". Spokane Daily Chronicle. AP. November 2, 1939. p. 17. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Claude Gillingwater. |