The Watson brothers -- actors/ photogs

The Stockton (CA) Record
Vintage Section

Paul Weeks
Published Tuesday, Jan 3, 2006

One evening in 1937, Shirley Temple was standing on the Union Station platform, where the Santa Fe Super Chief was westbound from Albuquerque. The crowd blocked my way to getting near to her for a brief interview. As a 16-year-old cub reporter, I wasn't much older than the 9-year-old who had just achieved fame in "Heidi."

The other day - 68 years later - I learned that a friend, who used to chase breaking news with me for the old Los Angeles Mirror, had a featured role in the same movie. His name: Delmar Watson.

"Are you up to reminiscing a little?" I asked Delmar, now 79, who was in a hospital just a few days after back surgery. "I want to write my next column about the Watson brothers."

The six Watson brothers - Coy, Bobs, Billy, Delmar, Harry and Garry - appeared in more than 1,000 movies, starting in the days of silents up through the midcentury. Coy, the eldest, now in his 90s, earned the name "The Keystone Kid" when he played in Mack Sennett's "Keystone Cop" comedies from the time he was a 9 months old until he was 22.

Those of us in our vintage years fondly remember stars such as Temple, Mickey Rooney, Spencer Tracy, Jackie Coogan, Fred Astaire, Lionel Barrymore, Kath