---
name: "Billy Watson"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/billy-watson"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "25 December 1923"
died: "17 February 2022"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 71
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-19T23:30:26.807612+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Billy Watson

Actor. Born 25 December 1923 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Died 17 February 2022.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 25 December 1923, Los Angeles, California, USA
- **Died:** 17 February 2022
- **Active:** 1931–1939
- **Also known as:** William Richard "Billy" Watson, William Richard Watson
- **Average Fi1m score:** 71, as actor, over 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 1 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 3, Comedy 1, History 1, Romance 1
- **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $13m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Watson_(actor), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4913442, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0914517/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/30218

## Biography

Billy Watson was an American actor. Born William Richard Watson on 25 December 1923 in Los Angeles, he was the sixth of nine siblings in the Watson family of child performers. He began appearing in films in the late silent era and continued through the 1930s and into the early 1940s.

His credits include *Bad Girl* (1931) as Floyd, *Show Boat* (1936), *In Old Chicago* (1938) as the boy Jack O'Leary, *Mr. Smith Goes to Washington* (1939) as Peter Hopper, and *Young Mr. Lincoln* (1939). He also appeared in *The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn* (1939) and other films, often alongside his brothers.

After serving in the US Coast Guard during the Second World War, Watson worked as a commercial photographer in Los Angeles while taking occasional television and community theatre roles. He died on 17 February 2022 in Spokane, Washington.

*Sources: imdb.com, hollywoodreporter.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Mr. Smith Goes to Washington* (1939), Fi1m 84, as Peter Hopper — [page](https://film.one/film/mr-smith-goes-to-washington.md)
- *In Old Chicago* (1938), Fi1m 64, as Jack O'Leary (as a boy) — [page](https://film.one/film/in-old-chicago.md)
- *Bad Girl* (1931), Fi1m 64, as Floyd — [page](https://film.one/film/bad-girl.md)

## Complete filmography (15)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Mr. Smith Goes to Washington* (1939), as Peter Hopper — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/mr-smith-goes-to-washington.md)
- *Stanley and Livingstone* (1939), as Billy Watson
- *Young Mr. Lincoln* (1939), as Boy on Right of Bean Shooter (uncredited)
- *The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn* (1939), as Eliot (uncredited)
- *Kidnapped* (1938), as Bobby MacDonald
- *In Old Chicago* (1938), as Jack O'Leary (as a boy) — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/in-old-chicago.md)
- *Hot Water* (1937), as Droopy (uncredited)
- *Show Boat* (1936), Actor
- *Life Begins at Forty* (1935), as Meriwhether Son
- *The Winning Ticket* (1935), as Joey Tomasello Jr.
- *The Little Minister* (1934), as Micah
- *Doctor Bull* (1933), as School Boy
- *Cannonball Express* (1932), as Little Boy (Uncredited)
- *Bad Girl* (1931), as Floyd — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/bad-girl.md)
- *Too Many Cooks* (1931), as Cousin Jimmy Cook

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/billy-watson