James Caughey Watson Jr. (November 16, 1912 – March 14, 2009), professionally known as Coy Watson, was an American child actor of the

silent era A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

, who was from an extended family of nine siblings of fellow performers known as The Watson Family. He appeared in more than 60 films.

Life and career

Coy Watson Jr. was the son of actor, stuntman, and pioneer special effects artist James Caughey "Coy" Watson Sr and his wife Golda. They lived by the

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 the city and Coy attended nearby Belmont High School. The younger Watson made his film debut in 1921 and appeared in approximately 24 films over a period of eight years. He had five brothers and three sisters who also acted in films, including Billy, Delmar, Garry,

Harry Harry may refer to: Television * ''Harry'' (American TV series), 1987 comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (New Zealand TV series), 2013 crime drama starring Oscar K ...

, Vivian, Gloria, Louise Watson Roberts, and

Bobs Watson Robert Ball Watson (November 16, 1930 – June 26, 1999), credited as Bobs Watson, was an American actor and Methodist minister. Early years Robert Ball Watson was a member of the Watson Family, famous in the early days of Hollywood as bein ...

. Because he was featured in several of

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American producer, director, actor, and studio head who was known as the "King of Comedy" during his career. Born in Danville, Quebec, he started acting i ...

's popular " The Keystone Cops" comedies, he earned the nickname "The Keystone Kid".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
." ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

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

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 ...

, Watson served in the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

, based out of

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. Coy Watson Jr. was a Los Angeles-based news photographer for

CBS Television CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

in the 1950s. He was the head news photographer at

KCRA-TV KCRA-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Sacramento, California, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Hearst Television alongside Stockton-licensed dual CW/MyNetworkTV affiliate KQCA (channel 58). The two stations shar ...

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, in the late 1950s. He was credited with teaching brother Harry R. Watson photography. Watson's autobiography, ''The Keystone Kid: Tales of Early Hollywood'', was published in 2001.Review of ''The Keystone Kid''
/ref> The Watson family were collectively honoured 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 ...

located at 6674 Hollywood Boulevard,

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Watson died of

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a numb ...

Alpine, California Alpine is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Cuyamaca Mountains of San Diego County, California, United States. Alpine had a population of 14,696 at the 2020 census, up from 14,236 at the 2010 census. The town is largely surrounded by Cleve ...

, on March 14, 2009, at the age of 96.''Los Angeles Times'' obituary: "Coy Watson Jr. dies at 96; one of nine silent-era sibling actors"
/ref>

Partial filmography

* ''

The Show Show or The Show may refer to: Competition, event, or artistic production * Agricultural show, associated with agriculture and animal husbandry * Animal show, a judged event in the hobby of animal fancy ** Cat show ** Dog show ** Horse show ** S ...

'' (1922) * '' The Right of the Strongest'' (1924) * ''

Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall ''Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall'' is a 1902 historical novel written by Charles Major (writer), Charles Major. Following the life and romances of Dorothy Vernon in Queen Elizabeth I, Elizabethan England, the novel became the year's third most su ...

'' (1924) * '' The Golden Strain'' (1925) * ''

Rich But Honest ''Rich But Honest'' is a lost 1927 American silent comedy-drama film, written by Randall H. Faye and directed by Albert Ray and Horace Hough. The film was released on May 22, 1927 by Fox Film Corporation, starring Nancy Nash, John Holland, Ch ...

'' (1927) * ''

Buttons A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole. In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic but also may be made of metal, wood, o ...

'' (1927) * '' Love Makes 'Em Wild'' (1927) * ''

The Shamrock and the Rose ''The Shamrock and the Rose'' is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Jack Nelson and starring Mack Swain, Olive Hasbrouck, and Edmund Burns.McCaffrey & Jacobs p. 92 It was one of a series of film presenting inter-community romance b ...

'' (1927) * ''

The Smart Set ''The Smart Set'' was an American monthly literary magazine, founded by Colonel William d'Alton Mann and published from March 1900 to June 1930. Its headquarters was in New York City. During its Jazz Age heyday under the editorship of H. L. Men ...

'' (1928) * ''

Show People ''Show People'' is a 1928 American synchronized sound comedy film directed by King Vidor. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film ...

'' (1928) * ''

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) * '' Blue Skies'' (1929)

References

Bibliography

* John Holmstrom, ''The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995'', Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 56.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Coy Jr. 1912 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male child actors American male silent film actors Belmont High School (Los Angeles) alumni Burials at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery Deaths from stomach cancer in California United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II Coy Jr.

Life and career

Partial filmography

See also

References

Bibliography

External links