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 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 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, 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'' (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'' (1931) - Boy Baseball Player (uncredited) *'' The Sport Parade'' (1932) - Kendricks' Boy (uncredited) *'' Man's Castle'' (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'' (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'' (1937) - Messenger (uncredited) *'' Love Is News'' (1937) - Newsboy (uncredited) *'' Penrod and Sam'' (1937) - Sam *'' The Road Back'' (1937) - Boy (uncredited) *'' Hot Water'' (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