Pierre Watkin's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) Dick Tracy Police Chie…

Main Movie Roles 1958 - It! The Terror from Beyond Space 1958 - High School Confidential! 1955 - Creature With the Atom Brain 1953 - The Stranger Wore a Gun 1953 - Canadian Mounties vs. Atomic Invaders 1952 - Scandal Sheet 1952 - Lovely to Look at 1950 - Southside 1-1000 1950 - Three Little Words 1950 - Shadow on the Wall 1950 - Radar Secret Service 1949 - Neptune's Daughter 1949 - Flamingo Road 1949 - Siren of Atlantis 1949 - The Fountainhead 1949 - Knock on Any Door 1948 - State of the Union 1948 - The Hunted 1948 - Incident 1947 - Monsieur Verdoux 1947 - The Web 1947 - The Secret Life of Walter Mitty 1946 - Little Giant 1946 - The Madonna's Secret 1946 - Shock 1945 - Strange Illusion 1945 - Here Come the Co-eds 1945 - Adventure 1945 - Thrill of a Romance 1945 - Apology for Murder 1943 - This Is the Army 1943 - The Iron Major 1943 - Destination Tokyo 1943 - Crazy House 1943 - Jack London 1943 - Du Barry Was a Lady 1942 - Nazi Agent 1941 - Life Begins for Andy Hardy 1941 - Meet John Doe 1941 - The Big Store 1941 - A Man Betrayed 1940 - The Bank Dick 1940 - I Love You Again 1940 - Road to Singapore 1940 - Knute Rockne All American 1939 - King of the Underworld 1939 - Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1938 - The Mad Miss Manton 1938 - You Can't Take It with You 1937 - The Life of Emile Zola 1937 - Stage Door 1937 - Ever Since Eve 1937 - History is Made at Night 1937 - Marked Woman 1937 - The Last Gangster 1937 - Rosalie 1936 - Swing Time 1936 - Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

BIOGRAPHY:

Pierre Watkin was one of a stable of tall, distinguished-looking and sophisticated character actors (such as Russell Hicks (I), Jonathan Hale (I), Selmer Jackson and Samuel S. Hinds) whom Hollywood kept steadily employed playing political leaders, army officers, lawyers, wealthy businessmen and the like. He is most distinguished among this group of character actors by his relatively soft and precisely-articulated, speech. He is probably most memorable as Mr. Skinner, the banker, in the W.C. Fields comedy The Bank Dick (1940), wherein 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, Iowa. 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 was married, in fact requested deferment from service because he was sole support of his wife. The name of his wife is unknown, as is whether they had any children, as this information does not appear in the draft registration, as the name Pierre Watkin(s) is completely missing from both the 1920 and 1930 Federal censuses.


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