Person
Gus Schilling
New York City, New York, USA
August "Gus" Schilling (June 20, 1908 - June 16, 1957) was an American actor. August "Gus" Schilling (June 20, 1908 – June 16, 1957) was an American film actor who started in bur…
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August "Gus" Schilling (June 20, 1908 - June 16, 1957) was an American actor. August "Gus" Schilling (June 20, 1908 – June 16, 1957) was an American film actor who started in burlesque comedy and usually played nervous comic roles, often unbilled. A friend of Orson Welles, he appeared in five of the director's films — Citizen Kane (first screen performance), The Magnificent Ambersons, The Lady from Shanghai, Macbeth and Touch of Evil (final performance, released posthumously). Born in New York City, Schilling had a rubber face and flustered gestures which made him a natural comedian and he began his career understudying comedy stars Bert Lahr and Joe Penner on Broadway. He soon became a favorite among burlesque comedians, who welcomed him into the burlesque profession. Schilling was in a relationship with burlesque star Betty Rowland and the couple toured in the Minsky burlesque troupe. Orson Welles saw Schilling in New York and followed him to Florida. There Welles hired Schilling to appear in a stage production featuring several Shakespearean scenes. "I learned my part by taking the script to Welles and having him translate the lines to everyday English," Schilling recalled in 1939. Welles promised Schilling a part in Welles's first motion picture, and kept his promise: Schilling is featured in Citizen Kane (1941). This established Schilling in Hollywood movies as a "nervous" comedian (he plays a jittery symphony conductor in Olsen and Johnson's Hellzapoppin', for example). He also co-starred with character comedian Richard Lane in a series of 11 comedy shorts for Columbia Pictures; the series ran from 1945 to 1950.
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
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1958
Touch of Evil
Movie Eddie Farnham (uncredited)
-
1956
Bigger Than Life
Movie Druggist (uncredited)
-
1956
Glory
Movie Joe Page
-
1955
Rebel Without a Cause
Movie Attendant (uncredited)
-
1955
Run for Cover
Movie Doc Ridgeway
-
1954
Executive Suite
Movie Newsstand Vendor (uncredited)
-
1954
She Couldn't Say No
Movie Ed Gruman
-
1952
One Big Affair
Movie Mr. Rush
-
1951
On Dangerous Ground
Movie Lucky
-
1951
Honeychile
Movie Window Washer
-
1951
Gasoline Alley
Movie Joe Allen
-
1950
Hit Parade of 1951
Movie Studio Guide
-
1950
Our Very Own
Movie Frank
-
1949
Bride for Sale
Movie Timothy
-
1949
Flung by a Fling
Movie Capt. Gus Schilling
-
1949
He's in Again
Movie Gus
More credits
-
1948
Angel on the Amazon
Movie Dean Hartley
-
1948
The Return of October
Movie Benny
-
1948
Macbeth
Movie A Porter
-
1948
Pardon My Lamb Chop
Movie Gus
-
1948
Two Nuts in a Rut
Movie Gus Schilling, Lane's assistant
-
1947
The Lady from Shanghai
Movie Goldfish
-
1947
Wedding Belle
Movie Gus Schilling
-
1947
Training for Trouble
Movie Gus Schilling
-
1947
Stork Bites Man
Movie Hubert Butterfield
-
1947
Calendar Girl
Movie Eddie Gaskin
-
1946
Pardon My Terror
Movie Gus
-
1946
Hot Water
Movie Gus
-
1946
Dangerous Business
Movie Alexander Pough
-
1946
Ain't Love Cuckoo?
Movie Gus Schilling
-
1945
High Blood Pleasure
Movie Gus
-
1945
River Gang
Movie Dopey Charlie
-
1945
A Thousand and One Nights
Movie Jafar
-
1945
See My Lawyer
Movie J. Ambrose Winkler aka Winky
-
1945
It's a Pleasure
Movie Bill Evans
-
1944
Sing a Jingle
Movie Bucky
-
1943
Larceny with Music
Movie Austin J. Caldwell
-
1943
Hers to Hold
Movie Rosey Blake
-
1943
Presenting Lily Mars
Movie Scotty - Stage Manager
-
1943
Chatterbox
Movie Gillie
