What was it like to be Hollywood’s first child star? Coy Watson Jr. reminisces about that unique experience in his nostalgic memoir, The Keystone Kid: Tales of Early Hollywood. Making his movie debut at the tender age of nine months, Watson appeared in several Mack Sennett "Keystone Cops" comedies before he could walk or talk. Between 1913 and 1930, he chalked up 60 movies. Among them are such classics as The Hunchback of Notre Dame, I’m No Angel, and Show People.

Watson’s father, the first special effects person in Hollywood, developed the use of piano wires for the flying carpet in The Thief of Bagdad, and this technique is still used today. He was also a stuntman, actor, director, and animal trainer. Because the Watson family, known as "Hollywood’s First Family," lived next door to Mack Sennett’s Film Company and a few blocks away from Selig’s southern California studio, Coy and his siblings frequently played on the grounds of these motion picture companies. He recalls sometimes being cast in films at a moment’s notice. His family mixed daily with the likes of Lillian Gish and Mary Pickford. "It was not unusual to have our house blown up for a movie or Douglas Fairbanks sitting on our porch for lunch," Watson says.

Watson and his five brothers and three sisters went on to appear in movies with such well-known stars as Mickey Rooney, Shirley Temple, Marion Davies, Fred Astaire, Spencer Tracy, and Jimmy Stewart. In honor of their unique contributions to the film industry, The Watson family received a "Star" on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame in 1999.

Writing about The Keystone Kid, Bob Mondello of National Public Radio says, "Watson’s memories of early Hollywood’s mad scramble to invent an art form on the run are a delightful treat. His stories have the ring of truth, and his storytelling, the wide-eyed wonder of youth."

Leonard Maltin, film critic and historian agrees. "What a wonderful slice of Hollywood history," he writes. "It’s high time the story of the Watson clan was put into book form."

Film fans in San Diego will have the opportunity to meet the Keystone Kid in person during "An Afternoon with Coy Watson Jr." on August 11 at 2 p.m. in the Museum of Photographic Arts. Hosted by the San Diego Film Critics’ Society, tickets are $10 general, $8 for seniors/students. A portion of the proceeds benefits the SDFCS education fund. (Tickets will be available at the door, but to reserve seats, call Diana Saenger: 619-445-4105.)

For this special San Diego event, Watson plans to show a few reels from The Campbell Comedies as well as selected pictures from his family’s collection of one million photographs. In addition, he will speak about his second career as a photographer for the military and for the Los Angeles Times. Watson will also sign copies of The Keystone Kid.

(The Keystone Kid: Tales of Early Hollywood, published by Santa Monica Press, is available at Amazon.com.)