# 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 being a houseful of child actors. He was brother to Coy Watson Jr., Harry, Billy, Delmar, Garry, Vivian, Gloria, and Louise, all of whom acted in motion pictures.
The family, known as "the first family of Hollywood", lived by the Echo Park area of Los Angeles and Bobs attended nearby Belmont High School.

## Child actor

Watson was best known for his role as "Pee Wee" in the 1938 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film Boys Town and its sequel Men of Boys Town (1941), both starring Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney. Tracy and Watson became good friends during the making of the first film, and Watson was reportedly Tracy's last visitor before his death in 1967. In 1939, Watson delivered a fine, tear-jerking performance as Pud, Lionel Barrymore's grandson, in the MGM film, On Borrowed Time. Watson later made guest appearances in many television programs, including The Twilight Zone, Lou Grant, The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, The Fugitive and Bonanza. In 1963 Watson appeared as Matt Lewis on The Virginian in the episode titled "A Distant Fury."

## Later career

In addition to working in the motion pictures business, Watson went to Claremont School of Theology to become a Methodist minister, inspired from the movie Boys Town. He retired after 30 years of serving in Burbank and La Cañada, California.

## Later life and death

The Watson family were honored by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce by placing the Watson family star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6674 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, California.
Watson died of prostate cancer at Laguna Beach, California, on June 26, 1999, at the age of 68.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1932 | Life Begins | Edgar, Harry's Son | Film debut, Uncredited |
| 1935 | Life Begins at 40 | Meriwether Son | Uncredited |
| 1935 | Two-Fisted | Eddie – Jimmy's Boxing Partner | Uncredited |
| 1936 | Show Boat | Willie Thomas | Uncredited |
| 1936 | Mary of Scotland | Fisherman's Son | Uncredited |
| 1936 | Libeled Lady | Waif | Uncredited |
| 1937 | The Great O'Malley | Boy | Uncredited |
| 1937 | Maytime | Maypole Singer | Uncredited |
| 1937 | It Happened in Hollywood | Boy | Uncredited |
| 1938 | In Old Chicago | Bob O'Leary as a Boy | |
| 1938 | Go Chase Yourself | Junior | Uncredited |
| 1938 | Boys Town | Pee Wee | |
| 1938 | Young Dr. Kildare | Bob O'Leary as a Boy | |
| 1938 | Kentucky | Peter Goodwin – 1861 | |
| 1939 | Dodge City | Harry Cole | |
| 1939 | The Story of Alexander Graham Bell | George Sanders | |
| 1939 | Calling Dr. Kildare | Tommy Benson | Uncredited |
| 1939 | On Borrowed Time | Pud | |
| 1939 | Blackmail | Hank | |
| 1940 | Wyoming | Jimmy Kincaid | |
| 1940 | Dreaming Out Loud | Jimmy | |
| 1940 | Dr. Kildare's Crisis | Tommy, The Crippled Child | |
| 1941 | Men of Boys Town | Pee Wee | |
| 1941 | Scattergood Pulls the Strings | Jimmy Jordan | |
| 1941 | Hit the Road | Pesky | |
| 1943 | Hi, Buddy | Tim Martin | |
| 1955 | The Public Defender | Rodger Bissel | Episode: Your Witness |
| 1956 | Crossroads | | Episode: The White Carnation |
| 1956 | The Bold and the Brave | Bob | |
| 1956 | The 20th Century-Fox Hour | Farnum | Episode: Smoke Jumpers |
| 1958 | Flight | | 3 episodes |
| 1959 | Steve Canyon | A / 1c Gotch | Episode: The Search |
| 1959 | Hennesey | Waiter | Episode: Pork Chops and Apple Sauce |
| 1959–1961 | The Lawless Years | Butcher Boy/Mousie/Popcorn Peddler | 3 episodes |
| 1960–1961 | The Jim Backus Show | Sidney | 37 episodes |
| 1961 | Pete and Gladys | Phone Man | Episode: Crossed Wires |
| 1962 | Saintly Sinners | Attendant | Uncredited |
| 1962 | What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? | Clerk in Newspaper Classified Ad Department | |
| 1962 | Bonanza | Junior | |
| 1963 | The Lucky Show | Calvin | Episode: Lucy Becomes a Reporter |
| 1963 | The Twilight Zone | Man at Dining Room Table | Episode: No Time Like the Past |
| 1963 | The New Phil Silvers Show | Ollie | Episode: Birthday Boy |
| 1963 | The Virginian | Hotel Clerk/Matt Lewis/Clerk | 3 episodes |
| 1963 | Take Her, She's Mine | Western Union Messenger | Uncredited |
| 1963 | The Fugitive | Milt Plummer | Episode: Nightmare at Northoak |
| 1963 | Grindl | Harry Dawson | Episode: Twas the Week Before Christmas |
| 1964–1967 | The Beverly Hillbillies | Fred Penrod/Harry Hogan | 4 episodes |
| 1965 | The Joey Bishop Show | Bernie Stern | Episode: Never Put It in Writing |
| 1966 | The F.B.I. | Walsh | 2 episodes |
| 1967 | Green Acres | Bell Hop | Episode: His Honor |
| 1967 | First to Fight | Sgt. Maypole | |
| 1967 | The Mothers-In-Law | Police Officer Bailey | Episode: The Not-Cold-Enough War |
| 1967 | Please Don't Eat the Daisies | Howard | Episode: The Day the Play Got Away |
| 1970 | Mrs. Stone's Thing | Bartender | |
| 1977 | Grand Theft Auto | Minister | Final film |
| 1978–1981 | Lou Grant | Lind/News Editor/Foreign Editor/Pete Trumbull | 4 episodes |
| 1993 | The Case of the Wicked Wives | Judge Ezra Frank | Last appearance |