Trivia

Eldest of the Watson clan of child actors -- the others are Gloria Watson, Vivian Watson, Louise Watson, Harry Watson, Billy Watson, Delmar Watson, Garry Watson and Bobs Watson.

Son of Coy Watson Sr..

He and his younger brother Bobs Watson were born on the same day (November 16) eighteen years apart.

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.

In 1939, Coy invented and manufactured the Coy Watson Lite Beam Focuser, a built-in camera device that assured accurate still camera focusing in total darkness. It's believed this invention marked the first time a battery was ever placed in a camera.

His first film was as an infant in the short The Price of Silence (1913). He was paid $5.00 for a single day's work. The neighborhood where the scene was shot had not yet been wired for electricity so Coy's bedroom scene had to be timed just right in order to take advantage of the sun.

He and many of his siblings dropped out of pictures after the advent of sound because for them the joy had been taken out of making movies. The children couldn't make a sound during a take.

His interest in photography began after his grandfather, James Watson, shot pictures of Buffalo Bill riding up Broadway in 1904.

His uncle, George Watson, was hired as The Los Angeles Times' first full-time news photographer in 1917 and later founded Acme News Pictures, a forerunner of United Press Photos. This became Coy's training ground for photography. He covered the 1932 Summer Olympics for Acme in Los Angeles.

As a teenager he set up a darkroom at his home and charged money to take photographs of his classmates.

Coy and all his brothers at one time worked as press, newsreel or TV photographers after WWII. Coy became a cameraman for KTLA Channel 5 and for CBS on the West Coast. He also worked at ABC and KCRA-TV in Sacramento.