According to most sources, as of last week, there were just three human beings alive who appeared in any capacity in a Silent Era silent film — no stars, the last having died in 2020.
On August 19, 2022, the last woman known to have appeared in a Silent Era film, Mildred Kornman, died at 97, according to a sweet remembrance by a longtime friend.
Kornman, born July 10, 1925, had followed her sister Mary Kornman (1915-1973) into films, making her debut at the age of 1 month in The Thundering Fleas in 1926.
She went on to become a regular in the Our Gang series from 1926-1928, and an extra from 1930-1935. She did movie extra work as well.
Perhaps her greatest achievement was as an in-demand fashion model in the '40s under the name Ricki VanDusen. She was photographed by the likes of Irving Penn (1917-2009), ending up on Vogue.
After her show biz careers, Kornman turned to photography, the profession of her father, who had worked for Harold Lloyd (1893-1971).
In her later life, Kornman made many appearances at fan conventions, having been noteworthy for her Silent work, for being an Our Gang survivor, for having worked with Laurel (1890-1965) & Hardy (1892-1957) and for her modeling history.
