Person Details

Birthday: 1884-06-12 12:06:52

Death: 1975-06-15 12:06:52

Aliases: William Crosby Piercy Austin

Gender: Male

Place of birth: Georgetown, British Guiana [now Guyana]

Homepage:

Movie Involvements: 25

TV Involvements: 0


Most Famous Work

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

Most Famous Work

Alice in Wonderland
Average
6

Alice in Wonderland

(1933) Gryphon
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Average
7

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

(1939) Inquisitive Stranger
Batman
Average
7

Batman

(1943) Alfred
National Velvet
Average
7

National Velvet

(1945) Reporter (uncredited)
The Return of the Vampire
Average
6

The Return of the Vampire

(1943) Detective Gannett
Imitation of Life
Average
7

Imitation of Life

(1934) Englishman at Party (uncredited)
The Garden Murder Case
Average
6

The Garden Murder Case

(1936) Sneed, Hammle's Butler (Uncredited)
The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu
Average
5

The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu

(1929) Sylvester Wadsworth

Acting

Year Character Movie/Tv
1947 Barnaby
1946 Forbes (uncredited)
1945 Musician (uncredited)
Reporter (uncredited)
1943 Detective Gannett
Alfred
1941 Spectator
1939 Inquisitive Stranger
1938 Mr. Martingale
1937 Bob's Butler (uncredited)
Constable Holly
1936 Sneed, Hammle's Butler (Uncredited)
1935 Salesman
Arthur Summers
Trelawney Redfern
Clerk in Chase's office
1934 Englishman at Party (uncredited)
Cyril Glossop
1933 Gryphon
Duke of Cleves
Harris
1932 Wilberforce Strangeways
Ollie's Hospital Roommate
1931 Richard Bentinck
Jellicott
1930 Lord Eustace
Basil Pistol
James Raleigh
Sylvester Wadsworth
Mr. Poffley
Jasper Hickson
1929 Lord Wrench
Prof. Percy Willow
Mr. Z
Sylvester Wadsworth
1928 Percy Penfield
Percy Jones
Dr. Eustace Gill
Raymond of Boston
1927 Det. Hall
Lord Tarbotham
Monty Montgomery
1926 Alfred Wimbledon
Andre's Assistant
Henry Fuller
1925 Arthur Rockmere
Dal Brown
Gerly - The Valet
Theodore Van Felt
1924 Archie
Lord Allan Harrowby
1923 Mr. Belknap-Jackson
1922 Wilbur
Peter Carter
1920 Reggie Barrett
Year Character Movie/Tv

Editing

Year Role Movie/Tv
1948 Editor
Year Role Movie/Tv

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