William Austin
Born: 1884-06-10 in Georgetown, British Guiana [now Guyana]
Died: 1975-06-15
Known For: Acting
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
Filmography
1948
- Campus Sleuth ... (Editor)
1947
- The Ghost Goes Wild as Barnaby
1946
- Alias Mr. Twilight as Forbes (uncredited)
1945
- National Velvet as Reporter (uncredited)
- Swingin' on a Rainbow as Musician (uncredited)
1943
- The Return of the Vampire as Detective Gannett
- Batman as Alfred
1941
- Charley's Aunt as Spectator
1939
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes as Inquisitive Stranger
1938
- Doctor Rhythm as Mr. Martingale
1937
- Renfrew of the Royal Mounted as Constable Holly
- Live, Love and Learn as Bob's Butler (uncredited)
1936
- The Garden Murder Case as Sneed, Hammle's Butler (Uncredited)
1935
- The Goose and the Gander as Arthur Summers
- $1,000 a Minute as Salesman
- Oil for the Lamps of China as Clerk in Chase's office
- Redheads on Parade as Trelawney Redfern
1934
- Imitation of Life as Englishman at Party (uncredited)
- The Gay Divorcee as Cyril Glossop
1933
- The Private Life of Henry VIII as Duke of Cleves
- Three Men in a Boat as Harris
- Alice in Wonderland as Gryphon
1932
- County Hospital as Ollie's Hospital Roommate
- High Society as Wilberforce Strangeways
- Rule 'Em and Weep as Duke
1931
- A Tailor-Made Man as Jellicott
- Corsair as Richard Bentinck
1930
- Along Came Youth as Lord Eustace
- The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu as Sylvester Wadsworth
- Paramount on Parade as Partygoer ('Impulses') (uncredited)
- The Man from Blankley's as Mr. Poffley
- Let's Go Native as Basil Pistol
- The Flirting Widow as James Raleigh
- Embarrassing Moments as Jasper Hickson
1929
- Illusion as Mr. Z
- The Marriage Playground as Lord Wrench
- The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu as Sylvester Wadsworth
- Sweetie as Prof. Percy Willow
1928
- Just Married as Percy Jones
- Red Hair as Dr. Eustace Gill
- Someone to Love as Aubrey Weems
- Drums of Love as Raymond of Boston
- The Fifty-Fifty Girl as Engineer
- What a Night! as Percy Penfield
1927
- It as Monty Montgomery
- Duck Soup as Lord Tarbotham
- Ritzy as Algy
- Silk Stockings as George Bagnall
- Swim Girl, Swim as Mr. Spangle PhD.
- One Hour of Love as Louis Carruthers
- The World At Her Feet as Det. Hall
1926
- Fig Leaves as Andre's Assistant
- The Flaming Forest as Alfred Wimbledon
- The Far Cry as Eric Lancefield
- What Happened to Jones? as Henry Fuller
- Her Big Night as Harold Crosby, cub reporter
1925
- Seven Days as Dal Brown
- Who Cares as Dr. Harry Oldershaw
- The Night Club as Gerly - The Valet
- Head Winds as Theodore Van Felt
- The Best People as Arthur Rockmere
- The Fate of a Flirt as Riggs
1924
- In Love with Love as George Sears
- The Reckless Age as Lord Allan Harrowby
- The Garden of Weeds as Archie
1923
- Ruggles of Red Gap as Mr. Belknap-Jackson
1922
- Rich Men's Wives as Reggie
- The Cowboy King as Wilbur
- Handle with Care as Peter Carter
1920
- Common Sense as Reggie Barrett