Pierre Watkin(1887-1960)
- Actor
Pierre Watkin was one of a stable of tall, distinguished-looking and
sophisticated character actors (such as
Russell Hicks,
Jonathan Hale,
Selmer Jackson and
Samuel S. Hinds) whom Hollywood kept
steadily employed playing political leaders, army officers, lawyers,
wealthy businessmen and the like. Unlike many of his colleagues in that
category, however, Watkin is notable for his (relatively) soft voice
and precisely articulated speech. He is probably best remembered by
film enthusiasts as Mr. Skinner, the unctuous, self-important bank president, in the
W.C. Fields comedy
The Bank Dick (1940), in which he
uttered the now-classic line, "Allow me to give you a hearty
handclasp".
He was the third of four sons of C.H. and Elizabeth J. Watkin, who operated a lodging house for "theater people" in Sioux City, IA. After completing high school he entered the acting profession, and by the time he registered for the draft in WWI he was working with an acting troupe--headed by Sidney Toler--and married. He requested a deferment from military service because he was the sole support of his wife. His wife's name is unknown, however, and it's also unknown if they had any children; this information does not appear in the draft registration, and the name Pierre Watkin(s) is completely missing from both the 1920 and 1930 federal censuses.
He was the third of four sons of C.H. and Elizabeth J. Watkin, who operated a lodging house for "theater people" in Sioux City, IA. After completing high school he entered the acting profession, and by the time he registered for the draft in WWI he was working with an acting troupe--headed by Sidney Toler--and married. He requested a deferment from military service because he was the sole support of his wife. His wife's name is unknown, however, and it's also unknown if they had any children; this information does not appear in the draft registration, and the name Pierre Watkin(s) is completely missing from both the 1920 and 1930 federal censuses.
