Jack Watson (15 May 1915 – 4 July 1999), was an English actor who appeared in many British films and television dramas from the 1950s onwards.

Watson was born in Thorney, Cambridgeshire, the son of a Gaiety Girl, Barbara Hughes, and music hall comedian, Nosmo King, with whom he often appeared on stage as straight man, known simply as Hubert. During the Second World War, he was a physical training instructor in the Royal Navy, and his physique was much in evidence in many of his subsequent screen roles. During the war he was resident compère of Navy Mixture.

After the war, his talent as an impersonator resulted in his becoming a regular on BBC radio programmes such as Take it from Here, Hancock's Half Hour and The Clitheroe Kid, gradually making the transition to television. His first major role was in Coronation Street where he became Elsie Tanner's (Pat Phoenix) first lover. Probably his best-known television role was as Llud, Arthur's craggy sidekick in Arthur of the Britons. His last major TV role was in the award-winning Edge of Darkness (1985). He died 14 years later at the age of 84.

His films included Peeping Tom, This Sporting Life, Grand Prix, Tobruk, The McKenzie Break, The Devil's Brigade and The Wild Geese. In total he appeared in over 70 films.

Biography

Jack Watson fait ses premières armes au cinéma, en 1951, par l'interprétation d'un petit rôle non crédité dans Capitaine sans peur (Captain Horatio Hornblower), puis participe au film Le Voyeur (Peeping Tom) en 1960, où il est un inspecteur de police. Il tient ensuite presque uniquement des seconds rôles, souvent des militaires ou des policiers, dans une trentaine de productions cinématographiques jusqu'en 1982.

À la télévision, il apparaît, entre 1960 et 1994, dans de nombreux téléfilms et séries télévisées, dont deux épisodes de Chapeau melon et bottes de cuir (The Avengers) et vingt-quatre de Arthur, roi des Celtes (Arthur of the Britons), où il incarne Llud, le mentor du jeune roi Arthur.