I have two good friends from the science fair circuit that worked for him at CSHL. They both (separately) said he has been a huge jerk for many years, a jerk of legendary proportions. Except they used different words for jerk. They said he frequently made off-color jokes and had some "interesting" theories, but that they didn't really think he was actually racist. Neither friend liked him, but they both really respected him - especially his stance on patents.

[The last time I put something like this on HN - something anecdotal and mildly negative - it was about Billy Mays, and he died a few days later. If Watson dies this week, it's not my fault...he's old.]