Surviving silent film actors

Billy Watson was born on 25 December 1923 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), In Old Chicago (1938) and Kidnapped (1938). He was married to Sue Watson. He died on 17 February 2022 in Spokane, Washington, USA.

Donnie 'Beezer' Smith was born on 17 September 1924 in Taft, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Little Mother (1929), Cat, Dog & Co. (1929) and Boxing Gloves (1929). He died on 8 July 2022 in Dade City, Florida, USA.

Petra Unkel was born on 3 March 1925 in Hungary. She was an actress, known for Love's Carnival (1955), Sensation in San Remo (1951) and Palace Scandal (1948). She died in 2001 in Kempten, Allgäu, Germany.

Mildred Gene Kornman was the daughter of German-born still photographer Eugene Kornman and his wife, the actress Verna Kornman. Eugene was employed on the staff of Harold Lloyd at Hal Roach Studios. His close friendship with star comedian Lloyd led to the child being named Mildred, after Lloyd's wife Mildred Davis. The younger sister (by ten years) of the already established child actress Mary Kornman, Mildred began appearing on screen as a toddler and eventually followed in her sister's footsteps as a regular cast member of Our Gang, playing Joe Cobb's sibling. She featured in some 20 episodes of the series between 1926 and 1935, beginning with the two-reel comedy short Thundering Fleas (1926). Mildred also worked as a bit part player and extra (frequently for 20th Century Fox) on and off between 1930 and 1962.

Mildred was educated at Hollywood High School (graduating in 1943) and later attended UCLA where she majored in English, Spanish and art. She began to freelance as a photographic model from the age of sixteen, some of her income used in support of her family during the depression years. Married at eighteen and having changed her name to Ricki VanDusen, she now concentrated increasingly on her new career path as a leading fashion model, soon featuring on the cover of prestigious American magazines, such as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, and in advertising campaigns for top shelf cosmetics firms like Elizabeth Arden, Revlon and Helena Rubenstein. In 1968, she set up her own business, the fashion boutique Van Dusen-Green Inc. in Encino, California. In the wake of her acting career, she also emulated her father by taking up professional photography.

Fully retired at 89, Mildred/Ricki resided on a secluded ranch in Utah and passed away seven years later in August 2022, one of the very last survivors from the age of silent cinema.

Garry Watson was born on 27 September 1928 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor, known for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Drag (1929) and This Is Your Life (1950).