Harry Ruilton Watson (August 31, 1921 – June 8, 2001) was an American child actor, a

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...

combat photographer in World War II, 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 Hollywood." They were initially active as child actors in silent motion picture films. Since August 2022, Garry Watson (b. 1928) has been the on ...

, famous in the early days of Hollywood as being a family of child actors. Brother to

Coy Watson Jr. James Caughey Watson Jr. (November 16, 1912 – March 14, 2009), professionally known as Coy Watson, was an American child actor of the silent era, who was from an extended family of nine siblings of fellow performers known as Watson family, The W ...

, Delmar, Bobs, Garry, Billy, Vivian, Gloria and Louise. The family lived by Echo Park area 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 drama, political Comedy drama, comedy-drama film directed by Frank Capra, starring Jean Arthur and James Stewart, and featuring Claude Rains and Edward Arnold (actor), Edward Arnold. ...

'', '' 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 definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

as a

combat photographer War photography involves photographing armed conflict and its effects on people and places. Photographers who participate in this genre may find themselves placed in harm's way, and are sometimes killed trying to get their pictures out of the war ...

. After the war, he became a pioneer in television journalism, contributing to bringing same-day coverage to the KTTV 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 historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...

, at 6674

Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...

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

Partial filmography

*'' Taxi 13'' (1928) - Mactavish Child (uncredited) *'' Blue Skies'' (1929) *''

Love, Live and Laugh ''Love, Live and Laugh'' is a 1929 American drama film directed by William K. Howard and written by Edwin J. Burke, Dana Burnet, and George Jessel. It is based on the 1922 play ''The Hurdy-Gurdy Man'' by Leroy Clemens and John B. Hymer. The fil ...

'' (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'' was ...

'' (1931) - Boy Baseball Player (uncredited) *'' The Sport Parade'' (1932) - Kendricks' Boy (uncredited) *'' Man's Castle'' (1933) - Baseball Team Captain (uncredited) *''

Call It Luck ''Call It Luck'' is a 1934 American comedy film directed by James Tinling and written by Dudley Nichols and Lamar Trotti. The film stars Pat Paterson, Herbert Mundin, Charles Starrett, Gordon Westcott, Georgia Caine and Theodore von Eltz. The ...

'' (1934) - Child (uncredited) *'' Life Begins at 40'' (1935) - Meriwether Son (uncredited) *''

Silk Hat Kid ''Silk Hat Kid'' is a 1935 American crime film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and written by Edward Eliscu, Lou Breslow and Dore Schary. The film, starring Lew Ayres, Mae Clarke, Paul Kelly, Ralf Harolde, William Harrigan and Billy Lee, was re ...

'' (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 Irish ...

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

Under Proof ''Under Proof'' is a 1936 British comedy crime film directed by Roland Gillett and starring Betty Stockfeld, Tyrell Davis and Judy Kelly. The screenplay concerns a man who is threatened into joining a gang of smugglers. Cast * Betty Stockfeld ...

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

Let's Sing Again ''Let's Sing Again'' is a 1936 American film directed by Kurt Neumann. Plot An orphan (eight-year-old boy soprano Bobby Breen) gets a chance to sing opera in New York. Cast *Bobby Breen as Billy Gordon *Henry Armetta as Joe Pasquale * Ge ...

'' (1936) - Orphan washing dishes (uncredited) *'' Show Boat'' (1936) - Boy (uncredited) *'' Bullets or Ballots'' (1936) - Kid Playing Pinball (uncredited) *''

Old Hutch ''Old Hutch'' is a 1936 American romantic comedy film directed by J. Walter Ruben and starring Wallace Beery as a man who finds $100,000 in the depths of the Depression. It is a remake of the 1920 Will Rogers film ''Honest Hutch.'' Cast *Wallace ...

'' (1936) - Freddie Hutchins *''

King of Hockey ''King of Hockey'' is a 1936 American drama film directed by Noel M. Smith and written by George Bricker. The film stars Dick Purcell, Anne Nagel, Marie Wilson, Wayne Morris, George E. Stone and Joseph Crehan. The film was released by Warner Bro ...

'' (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 Bartlett ...

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

Love Is News ''Love Is News'' is a 1937 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 ''That Wonderf ...

'' (1937) - Newsboy (uncredited) *'' Penrod and Sam'' (1937) - Sam *''

The Road Back ''The Road Back'', also translated as ''The Way Back'', (german: Der Weg zurück) is a novel by German author Erich Maria Remarque, commonly regarded as a sequel to his 1929 novel ''All Quiet on the Western Front''. It was first serialized in the ...

'' (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 The damsel in distress is a recurring narrative device in which one or more men must rescue a woman who has either been kidnapped or placed in general peril. Kinship, love, or lust (or a combination of those) gives the male protagonist the motiv ...

'' (1937) - Albert *''

Kidnapped Kidnapped may refer to: * subject to the crime of kidnapping Literature * ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson * ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Ca ...

'' (1938) - Sandy - an Urchin (uncredited) *'' The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (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