Mildred Washington

Mildred Washington, March 16, 1905, Houston, TX - September 7, 1933, Los Angeles, CA.

Like Theresa Harris, Mildred Washington was beautiful, and she had a captivating personality. Harris had "Baby Face" 1933 while Washington had "Torch Singer during the pre-Code era. They were not heavy set like Louise Beavers and Hattie McDaniel. Mildred started as a dancer on Broadway before making a career in films starting in 1927. She was still working as a dancer but also making film appearances. She played Nancy Carroll's maid in the now incomplete, "The Shopworn Angel" in 1928 and she was Viola, the maid, in "Blonde Venus" 1932, then she was Genevieve, Constance Bennett's maid in "Bed of Roses" 1933, Mary Duncan's dresser in "Morning Glory" 1933, the first film for which Katharine Hepburn won the coveted Oscar. She had another role as a maid, Carrie, serving Claudette Colbert, in "Torch Singer", 1933, and she got to show humor and sass. Her final films, "A Man of Sentiment", "Only Yesterday" and "Roman Scandals" gave her little opportunity but in her last screen appearance she was a dancer.

According to IMDB, "During the earthquake in the spring of 1933, Washington developed appendicitis when she fell running for cover from Grauman's Chinese Theatre." Post surgery saw peritonitis set in and she died at White Memorial Hospital. She was 28.