William Austin (actor)

For other people named William Austin, see William Austin (disambiguation).

William Austin
William Austin at left in Her Big Night (1926)
Born	(1884-06-12)12 June 1884 Georgetown, British Guiana
Died	15 June 1975(1975-06-15) (aged 91) Newport Beach, California, USA
Cause of death	Stroke
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1920–1970
Family	Albert Austin (brother)

William Austin (12 June 1884 – 15 June 1975) was an English character actor. He was the first actor to play Alfred in a Batman adaptation.

Biography

William Austin was born on a sugar plantation in Georgetown in British Guiana (now Guyana). On the death of his father he was brought to the United Kingdom 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.

Career

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). He supported Laurel and Hardy in two of their films, Duck Soup and County Hospital.

Batman

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 moustache. 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.

Death

Austin died in his Newport Beach home from complications of a stroke.

Partial filmography

• Handle with Care (1922)
• Ruggles of Red Gap (1923)
• The Reckless Age (1924)
• The Enemy Sex (1924)
• In Love with Love (1924)
• Who Cares (1925)
• Head Winds (1925)
• The Fate of a Flirt (1925)
• The Best People (1925)
• What Happened to Jones (1926)
• Her Big Night (1926)
• Collegiate (1926)
• West of Broadway (1926)
• It (1927)
• Ritzy (1927)
• The World at Her Feet (1927)
• Swim Girl, Swim (1927)
• Drums of Love (1928)
• Red Hair (1928)
• The Fifty-Fifty Girl (1928)
• Just Married (1928)
• Number Please (1928)
• Someone to Love (1928)
• What a Night! (1928)
• Embarrassing Moments (1929)
• Illusion (1929)
• Sweetie (1929)
• The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929)
• The Marriage Playground (1929)
• Paramount on Parade (1930)
• The Flirting Widow (1930)
• The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu (1930)
• Let's Go Native (1930)
• The Man from Blankley's (1930)
• Along Came Youth (1931)
• A Tailor Made Man (1931)
• Corsair (1931)
• Don't Be a Dummy (1932)
• Three Men in a Boat (1933)
• The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)
• Alice in Wonderland (1933)
• Thirty-Day Princess (1934)
• Once to Every Bachelor (1934)
• Redheads on Parade (1935)
• $1000 a Minute (1935)
• The Goose and the Gander (1935)
• Renfrew of the Royal Mounted (1937)
• Dr. Rhythm (1938)
• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)
• Charley's Aunt (1941)
• Holy Matrimony (1943)
• Batman (serial, 1943)
• My Kingdom for a Cook (1943)
• The Return of the Vampire (1944)

External links

• William Austin at IMDb
• William Austin at the Internet Broadway Database
• William Austin at Find a Grave
• McLean, Thomas (9 July 2008). "Batman's father figure: Michael Caine and Alfreds through the years". Variety. Retrieved 10 February 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)