Pierre Watkin

Pierre Frank Watkin was an American character actor best known for playing distinguished authority figures throughout the Golden Age of Hollywood. He is best remembered for his roles of Mr. Skinner the bank president in The Bank Dick ; Lou Gehrig's father-in-law Mr. Twitchell in Pride of the Yankees ; and the first actor to portray Perry White in the Superman serials Superman and Atom Man vs. Superman.

Early life

Watkin was born on December 29, 1887, in Afton Township, Iowa, the third of four sons born to Charles Henry Watkin and Elizabeth Jeannette Watkin.
When Watkin was a young child, his family moved to Sioux City, Iowa, where his parents ran a boarding house for actors. This environment influenced Watkin to go into acting. When he was a teenager, the family moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where he began acting in theater.

Career

Watkin began his career touring the Midwest with various theatrical troupes, including with the company of Morgan Wallace. In 1918, he formed his own theatrical troupe, the Pierre Watkin Players, which was first headquartered in Sioux City, before moving to Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1927. Among those in his troupe included Lyle Talbot ; Georgia Neese Clark and her first husband George Clark; and Roy Hillard, the father of Harriet Nelson. However, the troupe disassembled when Watkin went East to pursue a Broadway career. The next year, Watkin made his made his Broadway debut in the 1928 play Possession.
Following a string of unsuccessful plays on Broadway, and with many actors moving out West, Watkin moved to California in 1935 to pursue a film career. Shortly after arriving, he made his film debut in the Bette Davis film Dangerous, having been offered a role by the film's director Alfred E. Green, an acquaintance of his from Broadway. Over his 25 year career, Watkin became well-known as a freelance actor, often appearing in bit roles — many uncredited — as wealthy distinguished authority figures such as bankers and judges. Watkin was a favorite of Davis and director Frank Capra, who dubbed Watkin his "one-man stock company". Although known as a character actor, he did obtain some major roles, such as bank president Mr. Skinner in The Bank Dick with W.C. Fields, and opposite Gary Cooper and Teresa Wright as Mr. Twitchell in the Lou Gehrig biographical drama film The Pride of the Yankees.
In 1940, Watkin made his first serial, portraying the main antagonist in the Universal film serial The Green Hornet Strikes Again!. Watkin would attain more prominent roles in film serials, such as the role of Uncle Jim Fairfield in the 1947 Columbia serial Jack Armstrong. The following year, the studio cast him in the role of Perry White in their adaption of Superman. The serial was a success, leading to Watkin reprising his role in a follow-up, Atom Man vs. Superman, in 1950. Watkin also received prominent roles from low-budget poverty row studios, appearing in several Western films for Republic Pictures.
At the turn of the decade, Watkin began to segue into television as the medium began gaining popularity. Watkin appeared in several series, such as The Lone Ranger, Cheyenne, The Jack Benny Program, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, and The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show. He also made an appearance on I Love Lucy in 1954, portraying book editor Mr. Dorrance in the episode "Lucy Writes a Novel". Watkin appeared as several minor characters in different episodes of Adventures of Superman. When producers were looking to revive the series after its cancellation in 1958, Watkin was cast in the role of Perry White again, replacing the late John Hamilton. However, these plans never came to fruition after the death of series star George Reeves in June 1959.

Personal life

Watkin first married Christie E. McLennan on August 21, 1909, in Ottawa, Kansas; the two had met while they were a part of a troupe together. They remained married until her death on April 4, 1930. Watkin remarried Mary Hart in Reading, Pennsylvania on September 25, 1932.
Watkin died on February 3, 1960, at age 72, at his home in Hollywood, California, from pneumonia and complications of diabetes. He was buried in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery, Burbank, California.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1950	The Silver Theatre		Episode: "Bad Guy"
1950	Colgate Theatre		Episode: "Satan's Waitin'"
1950	The Cisco Kid	Various roles	3 episodes
1950-1951	Dick Tracy	Police Chief Pat Patton	Recurring role; 4 episodes
1950-1955	The Lone Ranger	Various roles	6 episodes
1951	Amos 'n' Andy	Traffic Court Judge #1	Episode: "Traffic Violation"
1951-1953	Racket Squad	Various roles	3 episodes
1951-1955	The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show	Various roles	5 episodes
1952	The Range Rider	Dr. Chancellor Dad Harris	Episode: "Blind Canyon" Episode: "The Bandit Stallion"
1952	The Gene Autry Show	Colonel Sheriff	Episode: "Blazeaway" Episode: "Six Gun Romeo"
1952	The Unexpected	J.B. Crane	Episode: "Split Second"
1952	Life with Luigi		Episode: "Citizenship"
1952	Boston Blackie		Episode: "Black Widow"
1952-53	The Roy Rogers Show	Prescott Professor Petrie	Episode: "Peril from the Past" Episode: "Outlaws of Paradise Valley"
1952-53	Fireside Theatre	Various roles	4 episodes
1952-1958	Adventures of Superman	Various roles	4 episodes
1952-1958	The Jack Benny Program	Various roles	5 episodes
1952-1958	Sky King	Various roles	3 episodes
1953	Chevron Theatre		Episode: "Goodbye to the Clown"
1953	Your Favorite Story		Episode: "A Tale of Negative Gravity"
1953	Hopalong Cassidy	Henry Warren	Episode: "Frontier Law"
1953	The Adventures of Kit Carson	Sheriff	Episode: "Ambush"
1953-1954	The Ford Television Theatre	Various roles	3 episodes
1953-1956	The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok	Porter Dr. Wells	Episode: "Grandpa and Genie" Episode: "The Missing Diamonds"
1954	I Love Lucy	Mr. Dorrance	Episode: "Lucy Writes a Novel"
1954	Duffy's Tavern	Fenston	Episode: "The Heir"
1954	Captain Midnight	Dr. Morgan	Episode: "The Deadly Project"
1954	The Red Skelton Show		Episode: "The Cop and the Anthem"
1954-1955	Public Defender	Dr. Morse Chester Lamont	Episode: "Color Blind" Episode: "Gunpoint"
1954-1957	Lux Video Theatre	Various roles	4 episodes
1954-1957	The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin	Dr. Hyer	Recurring role; 4 episodes
1955	Stories of the Century	Judge Isaac C. Parker	Uncredited Episode: "Cherokee Bill"
1955	The Whistler	Roarke	Episode: "Favor for a Friend"
1955	The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse		Episode: "The Quiet Wife"
1955	City Detective	Davis	Episode: "The Hypnotic Wife"
1955	Schlitz Playhouse of Stars	J. Harrison Hardesty	Episode: "Visitor in the Night"
1955	The Eddie Cantor Comedy Theatre		Episode: "The Wizard"
1955	Front Row Center	Hatfield	Episode: "Dinner at Eight"
1955	Damon Runyon Theater		Episode: "The Mink Doll"
1955	The Man Behind the Badge	Tremont	Episode: "The Case of the Phoney Paper"
1955	Four Star Playhouse	Mr. Morgan	Episode: "Let the Chips Fall"
1955	Climax!	Family Friend	Uncredited Episode: "A Promise to Murder"
1955	Fury	Ellis	Episode: "Joey and the Gypsies"
1955-1956	Brave Eagle	Colonel Matt Matthews Colonel Bond	Episode: "Moonfire" Episode: "Death Trap"
1955-1956	TV Reader's Digest	Various roles	3 episodes
1955-1956	Annie Oakley	Henry Lormier Reverend Mills	Episode: "Dead Man's Stuff" Episode: "The Reckless Press"
1955-1957	The Millionaire	Jonathan Jeffries Governor	Episode: "The Margaret Browning Story" Episode: "The Hugh Waring Story"
1955-1958	December Bride	Various roles	3 episodes
1956	The Count of Monte Cristo	Charcot	Episode: "Return to the Chateau D'if
1956	Jungle Jim	Horatio Erskine	Episode: "Power of Darkness"
1956	It's a Great Life	Jason General	Episode: "Screen Test" Episode: "Old Soldiers Never Die"
1956	Cheyenne	The Colonel Harvey Sinclair	Episode: "Decision" Episode: "The Law Man"
1956	The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu	Secretary of Commerce	Episode: "The Satellites of Dr. Fu Manchu"
1956	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Porter	Season 2 Episode 9: "Crack of Doom"
1956	The Bob Hope Show	Himself	Episode: "The Awful Truth"
1957	Crossroads	Judge Richter Governor	Episode: "Call for Help" Episode: "Convict 1321, Age 21"
1957	The Sheriff of Cochise	Judge	Episode: "Stepfather"
1957	The Gale Storm Show		Episode: "For Money or Love"
1957	Sergeant Preston of the Yukon	Inspector	Episode: "The Jailbreaker"
1957	Tales of Wells Fargo	Doctor	Episode: "Laredo"
1957-1958	Perry Mason	Judge Keetley	Recurring role; 3 episodes
1957-1958	The Restless Gun	Various roles	3 episodes
1957-1959	Highway Patrol	Thomas Corbin Mr. Larson	Episode: "Dead Hunter" Episode: "Diversion Robbery"
1958	Death Valley Days	David Dows	Episode: "Empire of Youth"
1958	Colt.45	Colonel Duncan	Episode: "Decoy"
1958	The Life of Riley	Teasdale	Episode: "The Letter"
1958	The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp	Colonel Bankhead	Episode: "When Sherman Marched Through Kansas"
1958	Dragnet		Episode: "The Big Eyes"
1958	Frontier Doctor	Dr. Breen	Episode: "San Francisco Story"
1958	Tales of the Texas Rangers	Ross Oliver	Episode: "Jace and Clay"
1959	The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour	Mr. Robinson	Episode: "Lucy Wants a Career"
1959	Tombstone Territory	Mr. Starr	Episode: "The Black Diamond"
1959	Bronco	Judge Blair	Episode: "Bodyguard"
1960	77 Sunset Strip	Plastics Executive	Uncredited Episode: "Collector's Item"
1960	Bat Masterson	Judge Smith	Episode: "A Picture of Death"
1960	Wagon Train	Doctor Samuel Caldwell	Uncredited Episode: "The Larry Hanify Story"
1960	Wanted Dead or Alive	Dr. Bowers	Episode: "Jason",