Background
Gillingwater was born in Louisiana, Missouri. Though he studied law, he preferred not to follow in his father"s footsteps and become a lawyer
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 first appeared on the stage then in 92 films between 1918 and 1939. 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.
In later years, Gillingwater played a few more curmudgeonly character roles. Some of his more distinctive parts came with the films A Tale of Two Cities (1935) (as Jarvis Lorry), 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 two more of her pictures - Just Around the Corner (1938) and Little Mission Broadway (1938). 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.
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.
His cremated remains were interred the Columbarium of Prayer, Niche 10628, in The Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California.