
William Austin
Born: 1884-06-10
Place of Birth: Georgetown, British Guiana [now Guyana]
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

Live, Love and Learn

Paramount on Parade

It

Let's Go Native

The Man from Blankley's

Fig Leaves

Just Married

The Flirting Widow

National Velvet

Who Cares

Head Winds

Red Hair

The Gay Divorcee

The Goose and the Gander

Illusion

County Hospital

Duck Soup

The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu

Three Men in a Boat

Someone to Love

Batman

The Return of the Vampire

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Embarrassing Moments

Alice in Wonderland

The Flaming Forest

Doctor Rhythm

The Night Club

$1,000 a Minute

Swim Girl, Swim

Common Sense

The Ghost Goes Wild

The Cowboy King

The Private Life of Henry VIII

The World At Her Feet

Redheads on Parade

Silk Stockings

Imitation of Life

Alias Mr. Twilight

Drums of Love

Along Came Youth

Swingin' on a Rainbow

The Far Cry

Renfrew of the Royal Mounted

The Fifty-Fifty Girl

The Reckless Age

Charley's Aunt

The Marriage Playground

Rich Men's Wives

What a Night!

Corsair

Oil for the Lamps of China

Sweetie

What Happened to Jones?

The Garden Murder Case

Ruggles of Red Gap

Rule 'Em and Weep

In Love with Love

The Best People

Her Big Night

The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu

A Tailor-Made Man

Handle with Care

The Fate of a Flirt

The Garden of Weeds

One Hour of Love
