August "Gus" Schilling (June 20, 1908 â€" 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 â€" 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 married
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.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.
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 â€" 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 married
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.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.
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