Biography
John M. Watson Sr. (1937–2006) was an American actor and jazz trombonist. Born in Ohio, he served in the US Army and earned a degree in music education from Miami University before teaching and performing as a trombonist with Red Saunders and Count Basie.
He began acting in middle age through Chicago theatre, including productions with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company and a Joseph Jefferson Citation for musical direction. His film and television roles include the bartender in Groundhog Day (1993), Bones Roosevelt in The Fugitive (1993), Uncle Pete in Soul Food (1997), and the TV Author in Stranger Than Fiction (2006). He died in Chicago.
