List of last living silent film actors
Revision as of 18:05, 30 October 2021 by Admin (talk | contribs) (→Silent film actors and personnel who died in 2010 or later: All names moved into table! Though most names could still use notes, it's enough for me to remove the WIP.)
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. All of the surviving silent actors on this list were child actors.
Living silent film actors
| Name | Date of birth and age | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Billy Watson | December 25, 1923 | American child actor who debuted in 1925. Along with younger brother Garry (born 1928), he is one of the last of nine siblings, dubbed "Hollywood's first family," The Watsons. |
| Mildred Kornman | July 10, 1925 | 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. |
| Garry Watson | September 27, 1928 | American child actor who debuted in 1929. Along with elder brother Billy (born 1923), he is one of 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. |
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) | |
| Georgie Stone | September 3, 1909 | April 25, 2010 (aged 100) | |
| Doris Eaton Travis | March 14, 1904 | May 11, 2010 (aged 106) | |
| Rosa Rio | June 2, 1902 | May 13, 2010 (aged 107) | |
| Yvonne Howell | July 31, 1905 | May 27, 2010 (aged 104) | |
| Daisy D'ora | February 26, 1913 | June 12, 2010 (aged 97) | |
| Eva von Berne | July 8, 1910 | November 9, 2010 (aged 100) | |
| Baby Marie Osborne | November 5, 1911 | November 11, 2010 (aged 99) | |
| Miriam Seegar | September 1, 1907 | January 2, 2011 (aged 103) | |
| Jack Totheroh | August 8, 1914 | May 20, 2011 (aged 96) | |
| Brigitte Borchert | November 15, 1910 | August 7, 2011 (aged 100) | |
| Jane Margaret Truesdell | April 29, 1911 | August 23, 2011 (aged 100) | |
| Barbara Kent | December 16, 1907 | October 13, 2011 (aged 103) | |
| Johannes Heesters | December 5, 1903 | December 24, 2011 (aged 108) | |
| Frederica Sagor Maas | July 6, 1900 | January 5, 2012 (aged 111) | Last surviving silent film screenwriter. |
| Carol Adams | March 15, 1918 | April 9, 2012 (aged 94) | |
| Isuzu Yamada | February 5, 1917 | July 9, 2012 (aged 95) | |
| Vondell Darr | April 18, 1919 | September 10, 2012 (aged 93) | |
| Peggy Ahern | March 9, 1917 | October 24, 2012 (aged 95) | |
| Jack Hanlon | February 15, 1916 | December 13, 2012 (aged 96) | |
| Mickey Moore | October 14, 1914 | March 4, 2013 (aged 98) | |
| Mickey Rooney | September 23, 1920 | April 6, 2014 (aged 93) | |
| Hanna Maron | November 22, 1923 | May 30, 2014 (aged 90) | |
| Carla Laemmle | October 20, 1909 | June 12, 2014 (aged 104) | |
| Manoel de Oliveira | December 11, 1908 | April 2, 2015 (aged 106) | |
| Jean Darling | August 23, 1922 | September 4, 2015 (aged 93) | |
| Dickie Moore | September 12, 1925 | September 7, 2015 (aged 89) | |
| Shep Houghton | June 4, 1914 | December 15, 2016 (aged 102) | |
| Dorothy Morrison | January 3, 1919 | October 18, 2017 (aged 98) | |
| 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) | |
| 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) | |
| Mary Carlisle | February 3, 1914 | August 1, 2018 (aged 104) | |
| Kathleen O'Malley | March 31, 1924 | February 25, 2019 (aged 94) | |
| 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. |