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Gus Schilling

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Birthdate

1908-06-20

Day of Death

1957-06-16

Place of Birth

New York City, New York, USA

Gus Schilling

Biography

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 (57)

⭐ 7.7 Role: Eddie Farnham (uncredited)

Touch of Evil

1958
⭐ 7.2 Role: Druggist (uncredited)

Bigger Than Life

1956
⭐ 5.7 Role: Joe Page

Glory

1956
⭐ 7.5 Role: Attendant (uncredited)

Rebel Without a Cause

1955
⭐ 6.8 Role: Doc Ridgeway

Run for Cover

1955
⭐ 7.1 Role: Newsstand Vendor (uncredited)

Executive Suite

1954
⭐ 5.7 Role: Ed Gruman

She Couldn't Say No

1954
⭐ 7.0 Role: Mr. Rush

One Big Affair

1952
⭐ 6.6 Role: Lucky

On Dangerous Ground

1951
⭐ 7.5 Role: Window Washer

Honeychile

1951
⭐ 5.8 Role: Joe Allen

Gasoline Alley

1951
⭐ 6.5 Role: Studio Guide

Hit Parade of 1951

1950
⭐ 5.9 Role: Frank

Our Very Own

1950
⭐ 7.0 Role: Timothy

Bride for Sale

1949
No Image
⭐ 10.0 Role: Capt. Gus Schilling

Flung by a Fling

1949