List of last living silent film actors
Revision as of 10:48, 26 August 2022 by Ulitzer95 (talk | contribs) (→Silent film actors and personnel who died in 2010 or later: + Donnie "Beezer" Smith)
This article lists the actors who were still living as of 2010, that started in or appeared in silent film, including those with uncredited roles. The silent era existed from c. 1896 until the first full-length sound feature or "talkie" The Jazz Singer, was released in 1927. The silent film era ended in about 1929 in American cinema, and later in other countries. The last surviving silent actor on this list was child actor.
Living silent film actors
| Name | Date of birth and age | Notes | Lifespan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garry Watson | September 27, 1928 | American child actor who debuted in 1929. He is the last of the nine Watson siblings. He debuted in the film Drag. The film was long thought to be a lost film but was later rediscovered. The film originally had two versions, a sound version and a silent version. He had other silent film appearances in The Isle of Lost Ships and Love, Live and Laugh. | 96 years, 58 days |
Silent film actors and personnel who died in 2010 or later
| Name | Date of birth | Date of death and age | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| June Havoc | November 8, 1912 | March 28, 2010 (aged 97) | Appeared in two Harold Lloyd silent shorts in 1918, On the Jump and Hey There!. Would later have a lengthy film, stage, and TV career. |
| Georgie Stone | September 3, 1909 | April 25, 2010 (aged 100) | Appeared in 49 silent films from 1914 to 1923. |
| Doris Eaton Travis | March 14, 1904 | May 11, 2010 (aged 106) | Debuted opposite Billie Dove in 1921's At the Stage Door, and would appear in several other silent films throughout the decade. |
| Rosa Rio | June 2, 1902 | May 13, 2010 (aged 107) | Organist who worked on a number of silent films in the 20s, including The Phantom of The Opera, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Birth of a Nation. The last surviving behind-the-scenes musical figure of the silent era. |
| Yvonne Howell | July 31, 1905 | May 27, 2010 (aged 104) | Appeared in 11 films during the silent era. |
| Daisy D'ora | February 26, 1913 | June 12, 2010 (aged 97) | Acted in several German silent films, beginning with Pandora's Box in 1929. |
| Eva von Berne | July 8, 1910 | November 9, 2010 (aged 100) | Austrian actress who debuted in the now-lost silent film The Masks of the Devil. |
| Baby Marie Osborne | November 5, 1911 | November 11, 2010 (aged 99) | Prominent child star of the 1910s, appearing in several dozen films. |
| Miriam Seegar | September 1, 1907 | January 2, 2011 (aged 103) | Appeared in several silent films during the late 1920s. |
| Jack Totheroh | August 8, 1914 | May 20, 2011 (aged 96) | Debuted as a baby in the 1915 short The Bachelor's Baby. Would appear in a second silent short, Try and Get It, in 1922. |
| Brigitte Borchert | November 15, 1910 | August 7, 2011 (aged 100) | Appeared in 1930's People on Sunday, one of the last German silent films. |
| Jane Margaret Truesdell | April 29, 1911 | August 23, 2011 (aged 100) | Appeared in 1913's Thus Saith the Lord. |
| Barbara Kent | December 16, 1907 | October 13, 2011 (aged 103) | The last surviving actor to have starring roles in silent films as an adult, in a career beginning with Flesh and the Devil in 1926. |
| Johannes Heesters | December 5, 1903 | December 24, 2011 (aged 108) | Dutch actor who appeared in the 1924 silent film Cirque hollandais. |
| Frederica Sagor Maas | July 6, 1900 | January 5, 2012 (aged 111) | Silent film screenwriter on works such as The Plastic Age. Last surviving Hollywood silent film behind-the-scenes figure, and the last to have a substantial silent film career as an adult. |
| Carol Adams | March 15, 1918 | April 9, 2012 (aged 94) | Actress of the 30s and 40s whose career began in the 1923 silent short film Navy Blues. |
| Isuzu Yamada | February 5, 1917 | July 9, 2012 (aged 95) | Japanese actress whose lengthy career began in the 1930 silent Ken o Koete. The silent era in Japan would last into the mid-1930s, despite its earlier phasing out in other countries. |
| Vondell Darr | April 18, 1919 | September 10, 2012 (aged 93) | Child actress in a number of silents throughout the mid-to-late 1920s. |
| Peggy Ahern | March 9, 1917 | October 24, 2012 (aged 95) | 1920s child actress best known for her appearances in the Our Gang series of shorts. |
| Jack Hanlon | February 15, 1916 | December 13, 2012 (aged 96) | 1920s Our Gang child actor also thought to be the last surviving cast member of the acclaimed Buster Keaton silent The General, released in 1926. |
| Mickey Moore | October 14, 1914 | March 4, 2013 (aged 98) | Child actor of the 1920s. Post-silents, he would later have a lengthy lengthy career as an adult. |
| Mickey Rooney | September 23, 1920 | April 6, 2014 (aged 93) | Prominent film star whose 88-year film career began as a silent child star, debuting in the 1926 release Not to be Trusted and starring in the numerous Mickey McGuire shorts released throughout the final years of the silent era. |
| Hanna Maron | November 22, 1923 | May 30, 2014 (aged 90) | German-born Israeli actress who appeared in several German silents of the late 1920s. |
| Carla Laemmle | October 20, 1909 | June 12, 2014 (aged 104) | The niece of Universal Pictures co-founder Carl Laemmle, Carla Laemmle appeared in bit parts in several silent films, beginning with 1925's The Phantom of the Opera. |
| Manoel de Oliveira | December 11, 1908 | April 2, 2015 (aged 106) | Portuguese film director whose appeared as an extra in the 1928 silent Fátima Milagrosa. His first released film, the 1931 documentary Douro, Faina Fluvial, was also a silent. |
| Jean Darling | August 23, 1922 | September 4, 2015 (aged 93) | Prolific Our Gang child actor, having appeared in 46 silent-era Our Gang shorts. |
| Dickie Moore | September 12, 1925 | September 7, 2015 (aged 89) | Actor whose 30-year career began as a child actor in the silent era, debuting as the baby version of John Barrymore's character in the 1927 film The Beloved Rogue. |
| Shep Houghton | June 4, 1914 | December 15, 2016 (aged 102) | Actor whose career was mostly bit part roles, beginning with the 1927 silent film Underworld. |
| Dorothy Morrison | January 3, 1919 | October 18, 2017 (aged 98) | Child actress in several silent Our Gang shorts. |
| Silas Hathaway | March 4, 1919 | 2017 (aged 97–98) | Portrayed the Kid as an infant in 1921's The Kid. Last surviving cast member of a silent film starring Charlie Chaplin. |
| Lassie Lou Ahern | June 25, 1920 | February 15, 2018 (aged 97) | Child actress with a substantial silent career, including in 1927's Uncle Tom's Cabin and a number of Our Gang shorts. |
| Louise Watson | November 22, 1919 | June 5, 2018 (aged 98) | 3rd-last surviving member of the Watson family. |
| Jack C. Edwards | September 26, 1920 | July 16, 2018 (aged 97) | Child actor in the early half of the 1920s. |
| Mary Carlisle | February 3, 1914 | August 1, 2018 (aged 104) | Later known for her career as an adult in the first decade of talkies, she debuted in a bit part role in the 1923 silent Long Live the King. |
| Kathleen O'Malley | March 31, 1924 | February 25, 2019 (aged 94) | Actress with a career spanning over 70 years that began as an infant in the 1926 silent My Old Dutch. |
| Fay McKenzie | February 19, 1918 | April 16, 2019 (aged 101) | Debuted as a baby in 1918's Station Content, released several months after her birth. The first known actor to live to see the centennial anniversary of their film debut. |
| Diana Serra Cary | October 29, 1918 | February 24, 2020 (aged 101) | One of the most popular child stars of the silent era under the stage name "Baby Peggy". The last surviving silent film actor with a leading role in a silent film. |
| Jack Dixon | July 4, 1916 | October 15, 2020 (aged 104) | His obituary in the Los Angeles Times notes him having made his silent film debut in 1920, though which films he appeared in are not currently known. |
| Don Marion Davis | October 9, 1917 | December 10, 2020 (aged 103) | The last known living actor who made their film debut in the 1910s, having appeared in two 1919 films. Also the second known actor to live a century after their film debut. |
| Billy Watson | December 25, 1923 | February 17, 2022 (aged 98) | American child actor who debuted in 1925. Along with younger brother Garry (born 1928), he was one of the last of nine siblings, dubbed "Hollywood's first family," The Watsons. |
| Donnie "Beezer" Smith | September 17, 1924 | July 8, 2022 (aged 97) | American child actor who debuted in 1928. Along with older brother Jay R. Smith (1915–2002), he appeared in Our Gang short films. His contract ended in 1929 after he took a dislike in the director. |
| Mildred Kornman | July 10, 1925 | August 20, 2022 (aged 97) | American child actress who appeared in 18 silent Our Gang films as an extra (the series also starred her older sister Mary Kornman). She later became an adult extra at 20th Century Fox, and was later known professionally as Ricki VanDusen. |