Mickey Kuhn, a former child actor and the last surviving cast member of the 1939 film “Gone With The Wind,” died at the age of 90 on Nov. 20, 2022, at a hospice facility in Naples, Florida, his wife confirmed to PvNew.
In the classic film, Kuhn played Beau Wilkes, the son of Ashley and Melanie Wilkes, played by Leslie Howard and Olivia de Havilland, respectively. The latter’s death in 2020 left Kuhn as the film’s last surviving credited cast member until his death on Sunday.
Kuhn’s acting career was at its height in the 1930s and 1940s, when he appeared such in films as “Juarez,” “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “Red River,” in which he played the adoptive son of John Wayne’s character. Kuhn left the entertainment industry in 1957, with his final credit being multiple appearances in episodes of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.”
Kuhn was born as Theodore Matthew Michael Kuhn Jr. on Sept. 21, 1932, in Waukegan, Ill. He and his family moved to Los Angeles shortly after, which afforded him his first acting role at the young age of two, when he appeared as an adopted baby in“Change of Heart,” which starred Janet Gaynor.
Before Kuhn put acting behind him, he enlisted in the United States Navy in 1951, spending four years as an aircraft electrician. Following his departure from Hollywood, Kuhn spent time working for American Airlines and the Boston airport. Later in his life, Kuhn frequently visited film festivals and conventions to congregate with and greet fans of “Gone With The Wind.”
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his two children.
