Harry Ruilton Watson (August 31, 1921 – June 8, 2001) was an American child actor, a U.S. Coast Guard combat photographer in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and a pioneer in television journalism.

Early life

Watson was a member of the

Watson Family The Watson Family are an American family of nine sibling actors who are known as "the first family of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood." They were initially active as child actors in silent motion picture films. As of 2024, Garry Watson (bor ...

, famous in the early days of Hollywood as being a family of child actors. Brother to Coy Watson Jr., Delmar, Bobs, Garry, Billy, Vivian, Gloria and Louise. The family lived by

Echo Park Echo Park is a neighborhood in the east-Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles, California. Located to the northwest of Downtown Los Angeles, Downtown, it is bordered by Silver Lake, Los Angeles, Silver Lake to the west and Chinato ...

area of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and Harry attended Belmont High School. His high school yearbook the ''Campanile'' talked about his photography: "His magnificent sport action shots are the embodiment of perfection. His coach? Big brother Coy, of course."''Campanile 1938'', Belmont High School, 1938

Career

Watson performed supporting roles in many early Hollywood movies including, ''

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington ''Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'' is a 1939 American political comedy-drama film directed by Frank Capra, starring Jean Arthur and James Stewart, and featuring Claude Rains and Edward Arnold. The film is about a naive, newly appointed United ...

'', '' Penrod and Sam'', ''A Damsel in Distress'' as little "Albert", as well as many others. During WWII, his career in Hollywood was interrupted, and he served on a tour of the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

as a combat photographer. After the war, he became a pioneer in television journalism, contributing to bringing same-day coverage to the

KTTV KTTV (channel 11) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network. It is owned a ...

evening news. The Watson family were honored by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce by placing the Watson family star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

, at 6674

Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It runs through the Hollywood, East Hollywood, Little Armenia, Thai Town, and Los Feliz districts. Its western terminus is at Sunset Plaza Drive in the Hollywood ...

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

.Pool, Bob.
Star Shines Brightly for Hollywood's First Family; Movies: The Watson clan of former child actors finally receives recognition for its pioneering contribution to films
." ''

The Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the larges ...

''. April 23, 1999. Metro Part B Metro Desk Page 1.

Partial filmography

*''

Taxi 13 ''Taxi 13'' is a 1928 sound part-talkie film comedy produced and distributed by Film Booking Offices of America and directed by Marshall Neilan. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchroni ...

'' (1928) - Mactavish Child (uncredited) *'' Blue Skies'' (1929) *'' Love, Live and Laugh'' (1929) - Little Boy (uncredited) *'' Indiscreet'' (1931) - Baseball Captain (uncredited) *'' Too Many Cooks'' (1931) - Cousin Harry Cook (uncredited) *''

The Star Witness ''The Star Witness'' is a 1931 American pre-Code crime drama film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. and directed by William A. Wellman. The film stars Walter Huston, Frances Starr, Grant Mitchell, and Chic Sale. ''The Star Witness'' wa ...

'' (1931) - Boy Baseball Player (uncredited) *''

The Sport Parade ''The Sport Parade'' is a 1932 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code sports film, sports drama film directed by Dudley Murphy and starring Joel McCrea, Marian Marsh, William Gargan, Robert Benchley, and Richard "Skeets" Gallagher. It was released ...

'' (1932) - Kendricks' Boy (uncredited) *''

Man's Castle ''Man's Castle'' is a 1933 pre-Code American film directed by Frank Borzage and starring Spencer Tracy and Loretta Young. Plot Well-dressed Bill takes pity on Trina, a hungry young woman he meets in a city park and treats her to a dinner in a fa ...

'' (1933) - Baseball Team Captain (uncredited) *'' Call It Luck'' (1934) - Child (uncredited) *'' Life Begins at 40'' (1935) - Meriwether Son (uncredited) *'' Silk Hat Kid'' (1935) - Child (uncredited) *'' Magnificent Obsession'' (1935) - Boy (uncredited) *''

Paddy O'Day ''Paddy O'Day'' is a 1936 American comedy drama film directed by Lewis Seiler and released by 20th Century Fox. It stars Jane Withers, Pinky Tomlin, and Rita Hayworth (credited as Rita Cansino). The story follows the adventures of a plucky Iris ...

'' (1936) - Street Boy (uncredited) *'' Under Proof'' (1936) - (uncredited) *'' Let's Sing Again'' (1936) - Orphan washing dishes (uncredited) *''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the per ...

'' (1936) - Boy (uncredited) *''

Bullets or Ballots ''Bullets or Ballots'' is a 1936 American crime film, crime thriller film starring Edward G. Robinson, Joan Blondell, Barton MacLane, and Humphrey Bogart. Robinson plays a police detective who infiltrates a crime gang. This is the first of sev ...

'' (1936) - Kid Playing Pinball (uncredited) *'' Old Hutch'' (1936) - Freddie Hutchins *'' King of Hockey'' (1936) - Boy Locating Dugan (uncredited) *''

Time Out for Romance ''Time Out for Romance'' is a 1937 American romantic comedy film directed by Malcolm St. Clair, written by Lou Breslow and John Patrick, and starring Claire Trevor, Michael Whalen, Joan Davis, Chick Chandler, Douglas Fowley and Benny Bartlet ...

'' (1937) - Messenger (uncredited) *''

Love Is News ''Love Is News'' is a 1937 American romantic comedy film starring Tyrone Power, Loretta Young, and Don Ameche. The movie was directed by Tay Garnett and was the first film for which Power had top billing. The picture was remade in 1947 as '' ...

'' (1937) - Newsboy (uncredited) *'' Penrod and Sam'' (1937) - Sam *'' The Road Back'' (1937) - Boy (uncredited) *''

Hot Water Water heating is a heat transfer process that uses an energy source to heat water above its initial temperature. Typical domestic uses of hot water include cooking, cleaning, bathing, and space heating. In industry, hot water and water heated t ...

'' (1937) - Newsboy (uncredited) *'' A Damsel in Distress'' (1937) - Albert *'' Kidnapped'' (1938) - Sandy - an Urchin (uncredited) *''

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' is a picaresque novel by American author Mark Twain that was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Commonly named among the Great American Novels, th ...

'' (1939) - Ben Donaldson (uncredited) *''

'' (1939) - Hopper Boy #3 *'' I Take This Woman'' (1940) - Oldest Murphy Kid (scenes deleted) (final film role)

References

Bibliography

* John Holmstrom, ''The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995'', Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 105-106.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Harry R 1921 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male child actors American male film actors Belmont High School (Los Angeles) alumni Male actors from Los Angeles United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II