Farewell, Man of Many Firsts March 27, 2009

Coy Watson

Some of my earliest memories of singing were with Hollywood pioneer Coy Watson, a dear friend of my grandparents, Bill and Frances Cumpston.

Coy was easily one of the most animated, vivacious and delightful people I’ve ever had the pleasure to know and be influenced by. I remember sitting on his lap at age 5 or 6, repeating songs that he would teach me, that would make him laugh and then tell everyone to come and listen.

James Caughey “Coy” Watson, Jr., 96, died on March 14, near his home in Alpine, CA.  The following are excerpts from his obituary in the LA Times.  The number of firsts he was a part of is astounding.

• He appeared in the opening scene of one of the first “sound on film” motion pictures, “Puttin’ on the Ritz” (1930), with Joan Bennett and Harry Richmond.
• As a photographer, Coy’s photos appeared in the first and second issues of LIFE magazine — November and December, 1936.
• 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.
• In 1943, at a show staged at the Hollywood Bowl for Madam Chiang Kai-shek (there to raise awareness and money for China), Coy took 16 mm motion pictures of the event, that became  the first filmed news story ever to be televised in the Los Angeles area on L.A.’s first television station. There were less than 40 TV sets in the city.
• In 1949, NBC/New York assigned Coy to cover on 16mm film the historic story of Kathy Fiscus, a little girl who had fallen into an abandoned well. It was the first news story in California to be televised live — continuously for 52 hours.
• In 1949, Coy shot Hollywood’s first TV commercial on film for Vermont Motors. That same year he made the first TV film documentary: “Operation Endurance”, featuring two former W.W. II pilots “staying in the air” in a single-engine plane over 1,000 hours (42 days).
• Coy and syndicated Hollywood columnist Erskine Johnson joined together to make “Hollywood Reel”; the first film-series for American television featuring motion picture stars and their real lives in Hollywood.
• He originated the Man on the Street Interview; spotlighting average citizens and their views on current events.
• In 1999, Coy Watson Jr. and his parents, Coy Sr. and Golda Watson, and five brothers and three sisters were honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Known as the “First Family Of Hollywood,” the nine kids literally grew up in Hollywood. Coy Sr. started with the Mack Sennett Studio in 1912, and collectively the family appeared in more than 1,000 motion pictures with some of motion picture’s biggest stars.  No other theatrical family can match their accomplishments.

Coy is survived by his wife, “Willie”, daughter Pattie Watson Price and grand-daughter Haley Christine Price, of Alpine, CA. and son JamesCaughey “Jim” Watson III, grandson J.C. “Jim” Watson IV, and great grandson James Caughey Watson V, and grand-daughter Kimberly Cottrell , and three additional great grandchildren, all residents of Perth, Western Australia.  His sister, Louise Roberts and brothers Billy and Garry are the surviving members of the nine Watson siblings.

Rest in peace, Coy.  Thank you for teaching me how much fun performing can be.

The 49th State January 12, 2009

Alaska is calling me!

My mom just posted a bunch of photos on her blog from my childhood in Alaska.  This is one of my favorites.  I loved my dog, Kiska.  When we left the Last Frontier, we had to give her away (saddest day of a kid’s life!) and she went on to be an official Alaskan sled dog.

Julia and Kiska in Chugiak, Alaska

And then we took on the snowmobiles. Below, you can see me on the Kitty Kat my parents got for my sister and I. The first time I rode it all by myself, I confused the gas with the brake, and nearly ran into the dog pen next door where our neighbor was raising many sled dogs who all howled in unison whenever the ambulance went by. I think this photo captures the moment before I barely missed crashing into the pen. Somewhere in my brain, I must have wanted to free those dogs. After this incident, my Dad turned the motor WAY DOWN.
Thanks for the memories, mom.

Brake! Brake! Use the brake!

It’s Veterans Day November 11, 2008

It is once again the 11th day of the 11th month and time to celebrate Veterans Day. This Veterans Day finds the men and women of our armed services in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan and stationed elsewhere around the world.

I thought I would share my Grandfather’s story, as I did last year in my blog. This is a picture of my father’s parents, Omer Kingston Brokaw, and his lovely new wife, Charlotte, on their wedding day in Nashville during WWII. A very handsome couple, and a very well spoken young man.

Here is an excerpt from his own diary, written in pencil on Morrison Field stationery, not dated. He was 23 years old.

“I believe that I am fighting for a way of life, a way of life in which the members of one race will be able to greet the members of all other races with respect and dignity knowing that each is free of those intolerances that encourage and permit one to look down upon the other as his human inferior. Each individual must have the inalienable right to the pursuit of his own just happiness, and society must see to it that his rights are not infringed upon by the intolerant.”

Kingston was a flight navigator, and his plane was shot down over North Africa. My father never knew him, so many of us never knew him. His absence hangs over my family in so many ways. I am grateful for his sacrifice, and for the sacrifice of so many lovely beings lost to war.

I have hope that our miraculous new president will bring our troops home from Iraq, as quickly as possible.

Today, I am wishing for homecomings.