Gus Schilling

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).

Career 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.

Personal life In July 1945 Schilling was arrested in Hollywood on charges of possession of narcotics. At his trial he testified that he admitted ownership of the marijuana to save his wife from arrest. The all-woman jury acquitted Schilling on November 29.

Schilling and Rowland were often reported as married, but Rowland later said that they never were.

Filmography

Pop Always Pays (1940) – City Dump Watchman (uncredited) (film debut) Mexican Spitfire Out West (1940) – Danny – Hotel Desk Clerk (uncredited) Dr. Kildare's Crisis (1940) – Orderly Cleaning Window (uncredited) Lucky Devils (1941) – Aloysius Grimshaw The Penalty (1941) – Parkins, Bank Teller (uncredited) The Flame of New Orleans (1941) – Couturier (uncredited) Citizen Kane (1941) – John, The Headwaiter / Screening Room Reporter The People vs. Dr. Kildare (1941) – Interne at Mike's (uncredited) Too Many Blondes (1941) – Elevator Operator Mystery Ship (1941) – Waiter (uncredited) Ice-Capades (1941) – Dave Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day (1941) – Leo Cobb – Orderly (uncredited) It Started with Eve (1941) – Raven Appointment for Love (1941) – Gus Hellzapoppin' (1941) – Orchestra conductor Dr. Kildare's Victory (1942) – Leo Cobb Broadway (1942) – Joe There's One Born Every Minute (1942) – Professor Asa Quisenberry The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) – Drug Clerk (uncredited) You Were Never Lovelier (1942) – Fernando Lady Bodyguard (1943) – Bughouse Sweeney The Amazing Mrs. Holliday (1943) – Jeff Adams Hi, Buddy (1943) – Downbeat Collins Chatterbox (1943) – Gillie Presenting Lily Mars (1943) – Scotty – Stage Manager (uncredited) Hers to Hold (1943) – Rosey Blake Larceny with Music (1943) – Austin J. Caldwell Sing a Jingle (1944) – Bucky It's a Pleasure (1945) – Bill Evans See My Lawyer (1945) – J. Ambrose Winkler aka Winky River Gang (1945) – Jafar Dangerous Business (1946) – Alexander Pough Calendar Girl (1947) – Ed Gaskin Stork Bites Man (1947) – Hubert Butterfield The Lady from Shanghai (1947) – Goldie Macbeth (1948) – A Porter The Return of October (1948) – Benny (uncredited) Angel on the Amazon (1948) – Dean Hartley Bride for Sale (1949) – Timothy Our Very Own (1950) – Frank, TV Repairman Hit Parade of 1951 (1950) – Studio Guide Gasoline Alley (1951) – Joe Allen Honeychile (1951) – Window Washer On Dangerous Ground (1951) – Lucky One Big Affair (1952) – Mr. Rush Three for Bedroom "C" (1952) – Train Barber (uncredited) She Couldn't Say No (1954) – Ed Gruman Executive Suite (1954) – Newsstand Vendor (uncredited) Run for Cover (1955) – Doc Ridgeway Son of Sinbad (1955) – Jaffir (uncredited) Rebel Without a Cause (1955) – Attendant (uncredited) Willy (TV series, 1955) – Pincus in episode "Franklin's Shoe Business" Glory (1956) – Joe Page Bigger Than Life (1956) – Druggist (uncredited) Touch of Evil (1958) – Eddie Farnham (uncredited)