As Hollywood mourns the death of Alicia Rhett, we remember the veteran legends of the silent era to the Golden Era who are still with us,
Alicia Rhett (February 1, 1915 – January 3, 2014) was an American portrait painter and actress who is best remembered for her role as India Wilkes in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind.
At the time of her
death, Rhett was the oldest surviving credited cast member of the movie, the
only others being Olivia de Havilland (born July 1, 1916), who
played India's sister-in-law Melanie
Wilkes, Mary Anderson (born April
3, 1920), who played Maybelle Merriweather, and Mickey Kuhn
(born September 21, 1932) who played Beau Wilkes.
On January 3,
2014, Rhett died in Charleston, South Carolina, aged 98.[2]
In her obituaries, Rhett was inaccurately cited by news media as "the
oldest living actor from Gone With the Wind", however that distinction goes to actor Shep Houghton
(born 1914), who had a small but uncredited role in the film. Rhett was,
more precisely, the oldest living credited actor from Gone With the Wind at the time of her death.
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| Mickey Rooney MGM Era |
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| Mickey Rooney - now |
LIST OF SURVIVING SILENT FILM ACTORS
|
Name
|
Date of birth and age
|
Notes
|
|
December 11, 1908 (age 105)
|
Portuguese film director and screenwriter
who appeared as an extra in the Portuguese silent film Fátima Milagrosa
in 1928.1
|
|
|
October 20, 1909 (age 104)
|
American actress and the niece of Universal Pictures
founder Carl Laemmle; played a
few small roles in the 1920s and 1930s, including the lead ballerina in the
original Phantom of the
Opera (1925).
|
|
|
June 4, 1914 (age 99)
|
American actor and dancer.
|
|
|
February 19, 1918 (age 95)
|
American actress who appeared in her first
film in 1918.2
|
|
|
October 26, 1918 (age 95)
|
American child actress who starred as
"Baby Peggy".
|
|
|
November 22, 1919 (age 94)
|
American actress who debuted at the age of
8; along with Billy and Garry, the last of nine Watson siblings.
|
|
|
June 25, 1920 (age 93)
|
American child actress who was in many
silent Our Gang films.
|
|
|
September 23, 1920 (age 93)
|
American actor who is best known for his
roles in sound film, but made his debut in the in silent short film Not to
Be Trusted (1926). From 1928 to 1934, Rooney starred in the series Toonerville Folks as
Mickey McGuire. Made his feature film debut in the 1927 Colleen Moore film Orchids and Ermine.
|
|
|
August 23, 1922 (age 91)
|
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|
November 22, 1923 (age 90)
|
Israeli actress who appeared as a child in
German silent films, before appearing in talkies.4
|
|
|
December 25, 1923 (age 90)
|
American actor who debuted at the age of 4;
along with Louise and Garry, the last of nine Watson siblings.
|
|
|
July 10, 1925 (age 88)
|
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|
September 12, 1925 (age 88)
|
American child actor who is best known for
appearing in the Our Gang talkie films, but appeared in a couple of
silent films in 1927 and 1928.6
|
With
respect to the following actors and actresses from the silent era, no known
sources confirm either that they have died or that they remain alive:
Helen Rowland (born 1919),
American child actress who appeared in What's Wrong with the Women?
(1922) and The Daring Years
(1923)
Vonda Phelps Child stage actress and dancer in the 1920s.
Appeared in 2 silent films in 1922.
Virginia Marshall Child actress in the 1920s
