Riwayat Hidup

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)

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