In 1929, a brief retrospective glimpse of Billy B. Van’s screen career appears in the recollections of Cissie Fitzgerald, known as “the girl with the wink.” In a published reminiscence, Fitzgerald looks back on her time in motion pictures, including her work with Van.

Though fleeting, the reference serves as a reminder that Van’s film work—already several years in the past—remained part of the living memory of performers who had shared in the early years of screen comedy.