William Austin
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. William Austin (12 June 1884 – 15 June 1975) was a British character actor who was born on a sugar plantation in Georgetown in British Guiana (now Guyana). On the death of his father he was brought to England to complete his education. He later filled a business post in Shanghai and on being sent to San Francisco by the company he worked for, he decided to stay in America and take up acting on the stage and later in films. He appeared in many American films and serials between the 1920s and the 1940s, though the vast majority of his roles were small and uncredited. He was the brother of actor Albert Austin. He died in Newport Beach, California. Of the numerous silent films Austin appeared in, he is best remembered as the sidekick friend of Clara Bow in Bow's best known film It (1927). Mr. Austin's portrayal in the 1943 Batman serial of Batman's butler Alfred is the iconic portrayal still used in the comics. Previous to being played by Mr. Austin, the character was fat and had no facial hair. Performed by Mr. Austin, the character was thin with a mustache. Shortly after the serial was released, Alfred in the comics was changed to match the look of the serial; this representation of the character has for the most part continued to this day except for the live action films, the Birds of Prey series, and the Deadshot short in Batman: Gotham Knight where he has no moustache. Description above from the Wikipedia article William Austin, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Known For
Gryphon
Alice in Wonderland
Cyril Glossop
The Gay Divorcee
Duke of Cleves
The Private Life of Henry VIII
Forbes (uncredited)
Alias Mr. Twilight
Archie
The Garden of Weeds
Det. Hall
The World At Her Feet
Arthur Rockmere
The Best People
Ollie's Hospital Roommate
County Hospital
Barnaby
The Ghost Goes Wild
Monty Montgomery
It
Richard Bentinck
Corsair
Dal Brown
Seven Days
Alfred
Batman
Constable Holly
Renfrew of the Royal Mounted
Mr. Belknap-Jackson
Ruggles of Red Gap
Jasper Hickson
Embarrassing Moments
Harris
Three Men in a Boat
Peter Carter
Handle with Care
Prof. Percy Willow
Sweetie
Arthur Summers
The Goose and the Gander
Inquisitive Stranger
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Bob's Butler (uncredited)
Live, Love and Learn
Clerk in Chase's office
Oil for the Lamps of China
Basil Pistol
Let's Go Native
Raymond of Boston
Drums of Love
Lord Tarbotham
Duck Soup
Mr. Martingale
Doctor Rhythm
James Raleigh
The Flirting Widow
Andre's Assistant
Fig Leaves
Henry Fuller
What Happened to Jones
Wilbur
The Cowboy King
Salesman
$1,000 a Minute
Duke
Rule 'Em and Weep
Sylvester Wadsworth
The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu
Reggie Barrett
Common Sense
Mr. Spangle PhD.
Swim Girl, Swim
Engineer
The Fifty-Fifty Girl
Theodore Van Felt
Head Winds
Dr. Eustace Gill
Red Hair
Gerly - The Valet
The Night Club
Detective Gannett
The Return of the Vampire
Jellicott
A Tailor-Made Man
Wilberforce Strangeways
High Society
Reporter (uncredited)
National Velvet
Trelawney Redfern
Redheads on Parade
Percy Jones
Just Married
Mr. Z
Illusion
Percy Penfield
What a Night!
Lord Allan Harrowby
The Reckless Age
Alfred Wimbledon
The Flaming Forest
Lord Eustace
Along Came Youth
Englishman at Party (uncredited)
Imitation of Life
Musician (uncredited)
Swingin' on a Rainbow
Spectator
Charley's Aunt
Sneed, Hammle's Butler (Uncredited)
The Garden Murder Case
Mr. Poffley
The Man from Blankley's
Lord Wrench
The Marriage Playground
Sylvester Wadsworth
The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu
Dr. Harry Oldershaw
Who Cares
Aubrey Weems
Someone to Love
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
60
Gender
Male
Birthday
1884-06-10
Place of Birth
Georgetown, British Guiana [now Guyana]
Also Known As
William Crosby Piercy Austin