William Gillespie
Date of birth: 1894-01-23
Place of birth: Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK
Known for: Acting
Also known as: Wm. Gillespie
Biography
William Gillespie (24 January 1894 – 23 June 1938) was a Scottish actor. Gillespie started in Hollywood films from the silent era. He played in about 180 films between 1915 and 1939, although his appearances were often uncredited. Gillespie frequently appeared in Hal Roach comedies from 1917, usually as stuffy official or manager. He supported such "slapstick comedians" as Charlie Chaplin, Charley Chase, Our Gang, and Laurel and Hardy, but was most prolific supporting Harold Lloyd in 60 films.
Movie Credits
Sold at Auction!
1923-05-26
Snub gets a job helping an auctioneer. He’s instructed to sell off a household estate, but goes to t
It's a Wild Life
1918-04-21
Harold invades the "Gilded Guzzle" café, where he appropriates a lady's roll of money, hides under a
Sherlock Sleuth
1925-07-12
House detective of the Hotel Omigosh, Cyril Fromage and his hotel switchboard operator sweetheart at
Your Own Back Yard
1925-09-26
Your Own Back Yard is a 1925 American short silent comedy film directed by Robert F. McGowan. It was
Moonlight and Noses
1925-10-03
Two burglars break into the home of an eccentric doctor. The doctor catches them, but offers to let
Raise the Rent
1920-02-22
Snub and his wife give up their bungalow and allow another couple to move in. Then it develops that
All Wet
1924-01-01
Charley Chase has car trouble.
Her Dangerous Path
1923-08-12
Her Dangerous Path
Why Men Work
1924-08-31
A movie cameraman is on the lookout for new material but a rival plans to copy everything he films.
White Wings
1923-05-12
Pursued by the law, a street cleaner finds refuge by impersonating a dentist.
Double Whoopee
1929-05-18
Stan and Ollie wreak havoc at an upper class hotel in their jobs as footman (Hardy) and doorman (Lau
Among Those Present
1921-05-29
An ambitious coat-room checker impersonates an English nobleman.
Now or Never
1921-03-27
A young man, unaccustomed to children, must accompany a young girl on a train trip.
The Flirt
1917-11-11
A man takes a job in a café, hoping to get to know the pretty waitress working there.
Bliss
1917-10-14
A counterfeit count is aided in his courtship of the heroine by her father who is overwhelmed by his
Dr. Jack
1922-11-26
Country doctor Jack Jackson is called in to treat the Sick-Little-Well-Girl, who has been making Dr.
The Goofy Age
1924-12-10
The hero's loved one is threatened with marriage with a rival, due to the machinations of her mother
Bees in His Bonnet
1918-09-15
Bees in His Bonnet is a 1918 American short comedy film featuring Harold Lloyd. It is presumed to be
Never Weaken
1921-10-22
Our hero is infatuated with a girl in the next office. In order to drum up business for her boss, an
Get Out and Get Under
1920-09-26
The comic adventures of a new car owner.
Move On
1917-12-09
Our hero is a police officer who gets involved in a crap game, flirting with a nurse and other amuse
Somewhere in Turkey
1918-06-16
Our hero, a professor in Turkey, challenges a Sultan for the affections of a girl.
That's Him
1918-08-04
Our newlywed hero is about to embark on a journey when he realizes that he has lost the train ticket
An Ozark Romance
1918-07-06
Harold visits the Ozarks, where he has some funny experiences with a mountain girl and her eccentric
Chasing the Chaser
1925-07-04
A very good as a faithful husband, whose wife is looking for proof that more than his eyes have been
Take a Chance
1918-12-15
It's a classic boy-meets-girl story, boy-loses-girl, boy gets mistaken for an escaped convict and ru
Dogs of War!
1923-07-01
The gang wages war using old vegetables as munitions. Later, they ruin a movie in progress when they
The Dumb-Bell
1922-07-16
The owners of a movie studio are having problems with a temperamental director, and they promise an
The Sleuth
1922-07-16
Paul Parrott stars as a detective in a hotel trying to recognize a fake sheik
Dear Ol' Pal
1923-11-11
Two lifelong friends vie for the affection of the same woman.
Run 'Em Ragged
1920-08-01
Run ’Em Ragged, Snub Pollard’s 39th starring vehicle, uses familiar slapstick-- Over-the-top make-up
Shine 'Em Up
1922-11-04
Paul's career as a shoeshine man is interrupted when he is mistaken for an escaped convict, but afte
Under Two Jags
1923-06-02
Stan is in the company of ladies in this film. He is serving in the military with female officers, b
Scorching Sands
1923-12-09
The misadventures of two intrepid explorers in the Egyptian desert.
Postage Due
1924-02-17
Stan does his best to recover a post-card, which he has forgotten to stamp. He attempts the recovery
Innocent Husbands
1925-08-01
Despite his faithfulness, Melvin is always under suspicion by wife Mame. Complications erupt when a
It's a Gift
1923-10-14
A group of oil magnates are trying to think of new ways to attract business. One of them suggests th
The Music Box
1932-04-16
The Laurel & Hardy Moving Co. have a challenging job on their hands (and backs): hauling a player pi
The Cure
1917-04-16
An alcoholic checks into a health spa and his antics promptly throw the establishment into chaos.
The Immigrant
1917-06-17
A European immigrant endures a challenging voyage only to get into trouble as soon as he arrives in
Hey There
1918-04-28
In this early short Harold Lloyd sneaks into a movie studio in order to locate an attractive young l
Dodge Your Debts
1921-10-16
A top-hatted bill collector is given the unenviable assignment of collecting the debts of a bad-temp
Looking for Trouble
1919-12-14
Snub plays a rich guy who wants to impress the ladies with his virility. So he pays a tough boxer to
The Dippy Dentist
1920-01-25
The film begins with a girl who is supposedly irresistible to all men. Several guys all come to her
They Won't Believe Me
1947-07-16
On trial for murdering his girlfriend, philandering stockbroker Larry Ballentine takes the stand to
Do You Love Your Wife?
1919-01-05
Stan plays a janitor at a hotel dropping letters and trying to retrieve them with a vacuum, getting
Sure-Mike!
1925-05-23
Vermuda, a saleswoman in a department store, is very late for work. She relies on a ruse to fool the
Is Marriage the Bunk?
1925-03-29
Charley has in-laws that look down on him because he's not rich. So, to try to keep up, he rushes ou
The Cowboy Sheik
1924-02-03
A shy cowboy is interested in the local school teacher, but must compete with a bully for her attent
Wrong Again
1929-02-23
Stable hands Stan and Ollie are tending a thoroughbred named "Blue Boy." But when they overhear two
Smithy
1924-01-19
After being discharged from the 372nd infantry, on account of a bean shortage, smithy seeks employme
The Poor Fish
1924-12-07
Charley, frustrated by his office job, quarrels with his wife, after which they decide to switch job
The Rat's Knuckles
1925-01-03
Charley Chase is a hapless inventor with a better mouse trap in this silent comedy from 1925.
Wandering Papas
1926-02-21
A cook for bridge constructors is told to collect food for dinner-Ritz style trout, Palmer house rab
Fully Insured
1923-12-16
A Hal Roach comedy starring 'Snub' Pollard and James Finlayson.
The Green Cat
1923-08-04
Snub is determined to make his new restaurant, The Green Cat, a success— no matter what it takes.
Exit Smiling
1926-11-06
The travails of a third-rate traveling theatre company and its wardrobe lady / maid who dreams of st
Pipe the Whiskers
1918-04-14
Our hero is a janitor in a old age rest home who actually runs the place.
The City Slicker
1918-06-02
Our hero gets a job at a hotel in the country and proceeds to introduce some changes, installing gad
Look Pleasant, Please
1918-03-10
A photo studio operator seems only interested in flirting with women. Hilarity ensues.
Thundering Taxis
1933-06-23
Rival Taxi Companies compete for business and make a slapstick mess of everything.
Madame Mystery
1926-03-12
A female secret agent has gotten ahold of a new type of explosive gas. She has to avoid the efforts
Pardon Me
1922-03-05
Snub puts over some amusing hokum in his efforts to be arrested.
Bromo and Juliet
1926-09-19
A young man puts on the play "Romeo and Juliet" as a fundraiser, but has to keep a close eye on his
Helping Grandma
1931-01-03
The kids' adopted grandma decides to sell her store, but can't decide whom to sell it to. The kids t
His Royal Slyness
1920-02-08
A young adventurer trades places with a European prince and falls in love above his station.
Safety Last!
1923-04-01
When a store clerk organizes a contest to climb the outside of a tall building, circumstances force
Haunted Spooks
1920-03-14
After numerous failed attempts to commit suicide, our hero (Lloyd) runs into a lawyer who is looking
Bride and Gloom
1918-08-18
A short film starring Harold Lloyd.
Any Old Port
1920-06-27
Captain Dandy (Snub Pollard) is about to sail and arrives on the dock where several women take turns
On Location
1921-11-06
Snub is an street sweeper with OCD, living in a neighborhood full of fussy people. He is sweeping th
It's a Joy!
1923-12-30
'Snub' Pollard as a eccentric movie director.
Cabin in the Sky
1943-03-24
When compulsive gambler Little Joe Jackson dies in a drunken fight, he awakens in purgatory, where h
Should Sailors Marry?
1925-11-08
Why Worry?
1923-09-09
A hypochondriac vacations in the tropics for the fresh air - and finds himself in the middle of a re
Do Me a Favor
1922-05-21
Marie's inebriated husband refuses to go to bed, so she asks Snub, a homeless man she finds sleeping
High and Dizzy
1920-07-11
A tipsy doctor encounters his patient sleepwalking on a building ledge, high above the street.
Fifteen Minutes
1921-10-29
While his wife is shopping, Snub attempts to take a fifteen minute break.
Pick and Shovel
1923-06-16
Pick and Shovel, also known as The Miner, is a 1923 silent comedy film starring Stan Laurel.
Zeb vs. Paprika
1924-03-16
Stan Laurel as a harness racing jockey who must win a big race.
Wide Open Spaces
1924-07-06
Wide Open Spaces is a 1924 Western silent film starring Stan Laurel.
Brothers Under the Chin
1924-04-13
Twin "babies" left at an orphanage bear the same birthmark under the chin. One of them is adopted an
Horse Shy
1928-05-19
Despite his fear of horses, Eddie Hamilton takes part in a fox hunt, in order to impress the daughte
Next Aisle Over
1919-03-30
A salesman takes a job at a department store to impress a girl and winds up stopping a kidnapping.
Number, Please?
1920-12-26
While at an amusement park, trying vainly to forget the girl he has lost, a young man sees the girl
Punch the Clock
1922-06-04
Eddie suspects his wife of having an affair with Snub. Snub, meanwhile, just wants to get to work on
I Do
1921-09-11
Comic adventures of newlyweds and children.
Laurel & Hardy: Year One
2023-09-01
Laurel & Hardy: Year One, The Newly Restored 1927 Silents, as proudly presented by Flicker Alley and
Let's Go
1918-03-24
A short film starring Harold Lloyd.
A Gasoline Wedding
1918-03-03
A rich man's daughter has more suitors than she's interested in, and he's going to marry her off --
Beat It
1918-02-24
Harold Lloyd starred in the successful Lonesome Luke series. However, he soon grew tired of the obvi
Here Come the Girls
1918-03-17
Bebe and girlfriend go shopping for new corsets. Harold sneaks into the corset shop and a customer a
The Tip
1918-01-06
A short film starring Harold Lloyd.
Step Lively
1917-12-30
Snub Pollard plays a drunken man-about-town who believes Harold has robbed him. Meanwhile, Bebe has
Bashful
1917-12-23
In order to claim his inheritance, our hero must first produce a wife and family.
Isn't Life Terrible?
1925-07-05
Charley is plagued with failure and with his brother-in-law, who's allergic to labor. When he decide
Don Key (Son of Burro)
1926-05-23
The head of a big movie studio is pulling his hair out because the company is bankrupt unless they c