Biography

Watkins was a voice-over regular on the popular 1930s radio series "Gangbusters" that featured weekly episodes based on real crime incidents. Each program ended with various descriptions of wanted criminals, many of whom were later arrested due to avid listener participation.

She can be seen as Scarlett O'Hara opposite Frances Fuller as Melanie Wilkes in George Cukor's screen tests for Gone With The Wind. However it is suggested she was reading-in to test actresses for Melanie rather than auditioning for Scarlett herself.

She had a son, Adam (1932-1969), and 3 granddaughters. She had 2 stepchildren: Elizabeth Baer (Hess) Wolff (1917-2017) and art critic Thomas Baer Hess (1920-1978).

Often spoke in a clipped trans-Atlantic or English accent in her television roles.

She was trained by the Theatre Guild and made her Broadway debut in 1926 as a teenage ingénue in "Devil in the Cheese". During the following decade, she matured into a critically acclaimed stage actress, noted particularly for her performances in "June Moon" (1929) and "They Shall Not Die" (1934). Unable to translate that theatrical success to the screen, she remained on stage and did not return to films for almost two decades until resurfacing on television in 1950, appearing in many series as well as some movies.