NAMES IN THE NEWS : Pee Wee Returns to ‘Boys Town’
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BOYS TOWN, Neb. — The child actor who played Pee Wee in the Oscar-winning 1938 classic “Boys Town” returned to the movie’s namesake to preside over the dedication of a chapel.
The Rev. Bobs Watson was 7 years old when he appeared in the movie with Mickey Rooney as Whitey Marsh and Spencer Tracy playing Father Flanagan.
He’s now 59 and an ordained United Methodist minister in Montrose, Calif. He gave a sermon Sunday at the dedication of Boys Town’s $3-million Chambers Protestant Chapel.
Watson said giving the sermon was “the most privileged thing that’s ever happened to me. Here it is 52 years later and Pee Wee has come back.”
![A photo from "The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family Book" by Ron Howard and Clint Howard. Pictured: : "Ron and Clint in Swimming Pool"] Poolside on Cordova Street.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5f92bf6/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2489x1665+0+162/resize/1024x685!/format/webp/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F81%2F66%2Fbed04fb44902b26523fe114289d5%2Fla-ca-the-boys-book-ron-and-clint-howard-156.JPG)
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