WATSON, BILLY

(1866-1945)

"Dutch" comedian Isaac Levie (or Levine) was born in New York where he went on the stage as Billy Watson, a singer and comedian, in 1881. He produced and starred inKrausemeyer 's Alley, a comedy in which he played a Jewish father resistant to his son's desire to marry anIrishgirl (a work foreshadowingAnneNichols's 1922 hit,Abie's Irish Rose). Watson owned and operated his own theatres and produced the popularburlesquetourBilly Watson's Beef Trust, featuring a line of overweightchorus girls.