William Gillespie

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William Gillespie

William Gillespie (born January 24, 1894 in Aberdeen , Scotland , † June 23, 1938 in Los Angeles , California ) was a Scottish actor .

life and career

Born in Scotland, William Gillespie played in his first Hollywood film The Runt in 1915 at the age of 21 . He began his career as a supporting actor in three Charlie Chaplin films, including as a drug addict in Easy Street (1917). From 1917 he worked as a supporting and small actor in a large number of films for the Hal Roach Studios , often impersonating staid officials, businessmen, doctors or salespeople who often appeared to be significantly older than his actual age. He was seen as a supporting actor for various comedians such as Stan Laurel , Snub Pollard and Charley Chase . His most prominent collaboration, however, was with star comedian Harold Lloyd , whom he supported as a supporting actor in a total of 60 films. Gillespie was also seen in almost 30 short films alongside the little rascals . Towards the end of his film career, he also starred in six films with Laurel and Hardy . In total, Gillespie has appeared in almost 180 films, the majority of which are short films and produced by Hal Roach.

In 1933 he retired from the acting business after appearing in Die Wüstensöhne , but returned to the big screen for a small role as a driver in the 1939 film The Adventures of Jane Arden (1939). But even before this film was released, Gillespie had died of chronic tuberculosis at the age of only 44 . It is known about his private life that he was married.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ William Gillespie. Retrieved May 14, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Gillespie, William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish actor
DATE OF BIRTH January 24, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH Aberdeen , Scotland
DATE OF DEATH June 23, 1938
Place of death Los Angeles , California