Gus Schilling
Acting
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.
Media of
Gus Schilling
Photos (21)
Filmography of
Gus Schilling
Eddie Farnham (uncredited)
... 1958
Druggist (uncredited)
... 1956
Joe Page
... 1956
Attendant (uncredited)
... 1955
Doc Ridgeway
... 1955
Newsstand Vendor (uncredited)
... 1954
Ed Gruman
... 1954
Mr. Rush
... 1952
Lucky
... 1951
Window Washer
... 1951
Joe Allen
... 1951
Studio Guide
... 1950
Frank
... 1950
Timothy
... 1949
Capt. Gus Schilling
... 1949
Gus
... 1949
Dean Hartley
... 1948
Benny
... 1948
A Porter
... 1948
... 1948
Gus Schilling, Lane's assistant
... 1948
Goldfish
... 1947
Gus Schilling
... 1947
Gus Schilling
... 1947
Hubert Butterfield
... 1947
Eddie Gaskin
... 1947
Gus
... 1946
Gus
... 1946
Alexander Pough
... 1946
Gus Schilling
... 1946
... 1945
Dopey Charlie
... 1945
... 1945
J. Ambrose Winkler aka Winky
... 1945
Bill Evans
... 1945
Bucky
... 1944
Austin J. Caldwell
... 1943
Rosey Blake
... 1943
Scotty - Stage Manager
... 1943
Gillie
... 1943
... 1943
Bughouse Sweeney
... 1943
Fernando
... 1942
Drug Clerk (uncredited)
... 1942
Professor Asa Quisenberry
... 1942
Joe
... 1942
Leo Cobb
... 1942
Orchestra Conductor
... 1941
... 1941
Raven
... 1941
Dave
... 1941
John
... 1941
Bank Teller (uncredited)
... 1941
Aloysius Grimshaw
... 1941
Orderly Cleaning Window
... 1940
Hotel Desk Clark
... 1940
City Dump Watchman
... 1940