William Austin

William Austin

Born: June 10, 1884
Died: June 15, 1975
in Georgetown, British Guiana [now Guyana]
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.

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Movies for William Austin...

The Ghost Goes Wild
Title: The Ghost Goes Wild
Character: Barnaby
Released: August 8, 1947
Type: Movie
Young artist Monte Crandell is being sued for an unauthorized caricature. To escape arrest, he disguises himself as a mystic, only to conjure up a genuine ghost during a seance. Things come to a head during his trial, where the invisible ghost takes the witness stand on Our Hero's behalf.
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Alias Mr. Twilight
Title: Alias Mr. Twilight
Character: Forbes (uncredited)
Released: December 24, 1946
Type: Movie
Geoffrey Holden (Lloyd Corrigan) is an elderly con-man who is a lovable old man when providing his beloved granddaughter (Gigi Perreau) with the simple luxuries of life, yet has no qualms when working a racket devised to relieve his victims of their property. Trudy Marshall is the governess of the granddaughter, and is in love with a detective (Michael Duane) who is about to expose the old man's unsuspected activities.
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Swingin' on a Rainbow
Title: Swingin' on a Rainbow
Character: Musician (uncredited)
Released: September 1, 1945
Type: Movie
A young girl goes to New York to find a band leader who has stolen all the songs she wrote and is passing them off as his own.
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National Velvet
Title: National Velvet
Character: Reporter (uncredited)
Released: January 26, 1945
Type: Movie
Mi Taylor is a young wanderer and opportunist who finds himself in the quiet English countryside home of the Brown family. The youngest daughter, Velvet, has a passion for horses and when she wins the spirited steed Pie in a town lottery, Mi is encouraged to train the horse.
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The Return of the Vampire
Title: The Return of the Vampire
Character: Detective Gannett
Released: November 11, 1943
Type: Movie
In 1918, an English family is terrorized by a vampire, until they learn how to deal with it. They think their troubles are over, but German bombs in WWII free the monster. He reclaims the soul of his wolfman ex-servant, and assuming the identity of a scientist who has just escaped from a concentration camp, he starts out on a plan to get revenge upon the family.
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Batman
Title: Batman
Character: Alfred
Released: July 16, 1943
Type: Movie
Japanese master spy Daka operates a covert espionage-sabotage organization located in Gotham City's now-deserted Little Tokyo, which turns American scientists into pliable zombies. The great crime-fighters Batman and Robin, with the help of their allies, are in pursuit.
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Charley's Aunt
Title: Charley's Aunt
Character: Spectator
Released: August 1, 1941
Type: Movie
In 1890, two students at Oxford force their rascally friend and fellow student to pose as an aunt from Brazil--where the nuts come from.
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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Title: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Character: Inquisitive Stranger
Released: September 1, 1939
Type: Movie
Having once again avoided criminal conviction, Professor Moriarity develops a murderous plan to “finish off” his last major nemesis, Sherlock Holmes, by making him fail to prevent the perfect crime. Does it involve a family curse, the crown jewels of England, or something else…
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Doctor Rhythm
Title: Doctor Rhythm
Character: Mr. Martingale
Released: May 6, 1938
Type: Movie
Dr. Bill Remsen pretends to be a policeman, and ends up being assigned to guard Judy Marlowe. Amazingly, he falls in love with her.
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Live, Love and Learn
Title: Live, Love and Learn
Character: Bob's Butler (uncredited)
Released: October 29, 1937
Type: Movie
A starving, uncompromising artist and an heiress fall in love on first sight and immediately get married. She loves his outrageous behaviour, his strange room-mate and the best apartment poverty can buy.
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Renfrew of the Royal Mounted
Title: Renfrew of the Royal Mounted
Character: Constable Holly
Released: September 29, 1937
Type: Movie
Counterfeit bills are being printed in Canada and shipped across the border hidden in blocks of ice. When the counterfeiters force engraver Bronson to make a new plate, he inscribes a tiny help message on it. Renfrew catches a henchman who has one of the new bills. A magnifying glass lets him read the message and he heads out alone to round up the counterfeiters.
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The Garden Murder Case
Title: The Garden Murder Case
Character: Sneed, Hammle's Butler (Uncredited)
Released: February 21, 1936
Type: Movie
Detective Philo Vance is in charge of the investigation of several mysterious murders. Things take a turn when he gathers evidence against Major Fenwicke-Ralston.
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$1,000 a Minute
Title: $1,000 a Minute
Character: Salesman
Released: October 21, 1935
Type: Movie
Two rich and wealthy millionaires who have a lot of money bet that reporter Wally Jones can't spend $720,000 in twelve hours.
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The Goose and the Gander
Title: The Goose and the Gander
Character: Arthur Summers
Released: September 21, 1935
Type: Movie
When Georgiana Summers learns that the woman who stole and married her husband is planning a romantic tryst with a new love, she hatches a giddy plot to expose the rendezvous and pay her back.
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Redheads on Parade
Title: Redheads on Parade
Character: Trelawney Redfern
Released: September 7, 1935
Type: Movie
A film star finds herself in trouble with her co-star when she has to flirt with the backer to prevent him from withdrawing his support.
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Oil for the Lamps of China
Title: Oil for the Lamps of China
Character: Clerk in Chase's office
Released: June 8, 1935
Type: Movie
An American oil company representative almost sacrifices his marriage for his career.
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Imitation of Life
Title: Imitation of Life
Character: Englishman at Party (uncredited)
Released: November 23, 1934
Type: Movie
A struggling widow and her daughter take in a black housekeeper and her fair-skinned daughter. The two women start a successful business but face familial, identity, and racial issues along the way.
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The Gay Divorcee
Title: The Gay Divorcee
Character: Cyril Glossop
Released: October 12, 1934
Type: Movie
Seeking a divorce from her absentee husband, Mimi Glossop travels to an English seaside resort. There she falls in love with dancer Guy Holden, whom she later mistakes for the corespondent her lawyer hired.
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Alice in Wonderland
Title: Alice in Wonderland
Character: Gryphon
Released: December 18, 1933
Type: Movie
In Victorian England, a bored young girl dreams that she has entered a fantasy world called Wonderland, populated by even more fantastic characters.
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The Private Life of Henry VIII
Title: The Private Life of Henry VIII
Character: Duke of Cleves
Released: August 17, 1933
Type: Movie
Renowned for his excess, King Henry VIII goes through a series of wives during his rule. With Anne Boleyn, his second wife, executed on charges of treason, King Henry weds maid Jane Seymour, but that marriage also ends in tragedy. Not one to be single for long, the king picks German-born Anne of Cleves as his bride, but their union lasts only months before an annulment is granted, and King Henry continues his string of spouses.
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Three Men in a Boat
Title: Three Men in a Boat
Character: Harris
Released: April 30, 1933
Type: Movie
An adaptation of Jerome K. Jerome’s classic story charting the comic misadventures of three friends – and a dog – as they take a boating holiday on the Thames.
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High Society
Title: High Society
Character: Wilberforce Strangeways
Released: July 27, 1932
Type: Movie
A British comedy film directed by John Rawlins
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County Hospital
Title: County Hospital
Character: Ollie's Hospital Roommate
Released: June 25, 1932
Type: Movie
Ollie is in the hospital with a broken leg. When Stan comes to visit him, total chaos ensues.
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Corsair
Title: Corsair
Character: Richard Bentinck
Released: November 28, 1931
Type: Movie
A stock market broker plans to liven up his boring life by taking up piracy on the high seas.
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A Tailor-Made Man
Title: A Tailor-Made Man
Character: Jellicott
Released: March 28, 1931
Type: Movie
John Paul Bart is just a pants-presser in a tailor's shop, but he has big ambitions. One night, he borrows the clothes of a wealthy client and bluffs his way into a high society party. After meeting wealthy businessman Abraham Nathan, John Paul quickly rises to the top of Nathan's company. Suffering during The Depression, John Paul helps Nathan save his company with a radical program of cooperative ownership between workers and management. Meanwhile, John Paul makes an enemy of Gustav, who is engaged to Tanya - the daughter of Mr. Huber, owner of the tailor shop. John Paul maintains a friendship with Tanya, provoking jealousy in Gustav. Gustav threatens to reveal John Paul's plain origins to Nathan, and John Paul briefly resigns from Nathan's company. However, John Paul's plan is a success, and Nathan hires him back immediately. Tanya leaves Gustav and ends up with John Paul.
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Along Came Youth
Title: Along Came Youth
Character: Lord Eustace
Released: December 20, 1930
Type: Movie
An American sportsman stranded in London poses as a cook to remain near the aristocratic lady he would woo.
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Let's Go Native
Title: Let's Go Native
Character: Basil Pistol
Released: August 15, 1930
Type: Movie
The company of a musical comedy gets shipwrecked on a tropical island inhabited by a "king" from Brooklyn and his coterie of wild native girls.
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The Flirting Widow
Title: The Flirting Widow
Character: James Raleigh
Released: May 11, 1930
Type: Movie
An older daughter invents a fiancé so that her father will allow her younger sister to marry. However, the lie comes back to haunt her.
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The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu
Title: The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu
Character: Sylvester Wadsworth
Released: May 2, 1930
Type: Movie
The sinister Dr. Fu Manchu returns to destroy the people he holds responsible for the death of his family.
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The Man from Blankley's
Title: The Man from Blankley's
Character: Mr. Poffley
Released: March 28, 1930
Type: Movie
When a nobleman loses his way in the fog and enters a house where there's a party going on, he's mistaken for a hired butler.
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Embarrassing Moments
Title: Embarrassing Moments
Character: Jasper Hickson
Released: January 17, 1930
Type: Movie
A couple meet, fall in love and get married in a 24-hour period.
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The Marriage Playground
Title: The Marriage Playground
Character: Lord Wrench
Released: December 12, 1929
Type: Movie
A delightful pre-code cocktail recipe. Take three couples (add gin and tonic), their several divorces and the seven children/stepchildren of their intermarriages and blend thoroughly, and you have a mixture a too-young-to-believe Frederic March will try to straighten out.
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Sweetie
Title: Sweetie
Character: Prof. Percy Willow
Released: October 25, 1929
Type: Movie
Chorus girl Barbara Pell (Nancy Carroll) inherits a school for boys, and uses her position to sabotage the football career of the boy who jilted her.
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Illusion
Title: Illusion
Character: Mr. Z
Released: September 21, 1929
Type: Movie
A vaudeville magician team is broken up when Carlee, an ex--circus performer, becomes infatuated with socialite Hilda Schmittlap. Meanwhile his vaudeville partner, Claire, has chosen a new partner, but her "heart isn't in it" because she is disconsolate over Carlee. Curious about her new act, Carlee attends a performance and sees Claire nearly killed when she fails to substitute fake bullets for real ones. Rushing to her aid, Carlee realizes how much Claire means to him.
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The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu
Title: The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu
Character: Sylvester Wadsworth
Released: August 10, 1929
Type: Movie
A Chinese doctor vows revenge against the allied troops who killed his wife and child during the Boxer Rebellion.
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What a Night!
Title: What a Night!
Character: Percy Penfield
Released: December 22, 1928
Type: Movie
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Just Married
Title: Just Married
Character: Percy Jones
Released: August 18, 1928
Type: Movie
After many outrageous moments, a young girl marries her former acquaintance, not with her fiancee.
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Red Hair
Title: Red Hair
Character: Dr. Eustace Gill
Released: March 10, 1928
Type: Movie
A free-spirited young girl has three middle-aged admirers, each of whom sees her from a completely different perspective. Unknown to her, they also happen to be the guardians of a wealthy young man to whom she is attracted.
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Drums of Love
Title: Drums of Love
Character: Raymond of Boston
Released: January 24, 1928
Type: Movie
A princess is betrothed to a deformed monarch, but falls hard for his handsome brother.
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The World At Her Feet
Title: The World At Her Feet
Character: Det. Hall
Released: May 14, 1927
Type: Movie
In a reversal of the usual situation, it is the wife, not the husband, who is the neglectful one. As hubby sits at home twiddling his thumbs, Jane starts her own prosperous business, becoming so absorbed that she has no time for anything else. Not unexpectedly, her husband begins keeping time with a gorgeous blonde, whereupon Jane wins back her mate by simultaneously inaugurating an affair with the blonde's husband.
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Duck Soup
Title: Duck Soup
Character: Lord Tarbotham
Released: March 13, 1927
Type: Movie
Fleeing a group of forest rangers, who are rounding up tramps to serve as firefighters, they take refuge in a mansion. The owner has gone on vacation and the servants are away, so Hardy pretends to be the owner and offers to rent the house to an English couple. Hardy gets Laurel to pose as the maid. Unfortunately, the owner returns and tells the would-be renters that he owns the house; Laurel and Hardy then flee again and are caught by the rangers and forced to fight wildfires.
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It
Title: It
Character: Monty Montgomery
Released: February 5, 1927
Type: Movie
A flapper shopgirl woos her rich boss with animal magnetism, otherwise known as "it."
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The Flaming Forest
Title: The Flaming Forest
Character: Alfred Wimbledon
Released: November 21, 1926
Type: Movie
Based on a James Oliver Curwood yarn, the outsized Northwest Mountie adventure The Flaming Forest stars Antonio Moreno as RCMP sergeant David Carrigan.
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Fig Leaves
Title: Fig Leaves
Character: Andre's Assistant
Released: August 22, 1926
Type: Movie
Adam, a plumber, is happily married to Eve, a wardrobe-obsessed housewife, until she accidentally meets a supercilious fashion designer. At the prompting of her neighbor, who has secret designs on Adam, Eve secretly becomes a fashion model by day, knowing that her husband would disapprove.
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What Happened to Jones
Title: What Happened to Jones
Character: Henry Fuller
Released: February 8, 1926
Type: Movie
On the night before his wedding, a young man plays poker with friends. When the game is raided by the police, he escapes into a Turkish bath on ladies night, ending up disguised in drag and with difficult explanations to make.
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The Best People
Title: The Best People
Character: Arthur Rockmere
Released: November 9, 1925
Type: Movie
Bertie and Marian Lenox are children of a wealthy family, and their mother intends that they marry "within their class". They, however, have different plans--Bertie is in love with chorus girl Sally O'Neil and Marian loves Henry Morgan, the family chauffeur. The family finds out about the impending marriages and determines to stop them. Complications ensue.
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Seven Days
Title: Seven Days
Character: Dal Brown
Released: September 20, 1925
Type: Movie
Jim Wilson is separated from his wife Bella, so when his maiden Aunt Selina -- who thoroughly disapproves of divorce -- comes to visit, Wilson is compelled to locate a temporary wife. His friend, Kit Eclair, is happy to fill in, but during a party, his home is quarantined for smallpox. To complicate matters, a burglar is hiding from a cop in Wilson's home, and wacky Anne Brown is busy trying to hold a seance.
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The Night Club
Title: The Night Club
Character: Gerly - The Valet
Released: April 26, 1925
Type: Movie
After having been stood up at his own wedding, a young man vows that he will have nothing more to ever do with women. However, he soon discovers that he has been left a fortune--on condition that he gets married. Deciding that being rich and married would be preferable to being broke and single, he goes in search of a wife, but things don't turn out quite the way he planned.
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Head Winds
Title: Head Winds
Character: Theodore Van Felt
Released: March 29, 1925
Type: Movie
Peter kidnaps Patricia to prevent her from marrying the wrong man.
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The Garden of Weeds
Title: The Garden of Weeds
Character: Archie
Released: November 2, 1924
Type: Movie
The title refers to the estate owned by Flagg, a man of great wealth and few morals. He installs chorus girls there until he grows tired of them
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The Reckless Age
Title: The Reckless Age
Character: Lord Allan Harrowby
Released: August 16, 1924
Type: Movie
Lord Harrowby takes out an $100,000 insurance policy to be paid if his wedding to Cecilia Meyrick is cancelled. The insurance company sends Dick Minot to make sure the wedding takes place, but he falls in love with the bride.
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Ruggles of Red Gap
Title: Ruggles of Red Gap
Character: Mr. Belknap-Jackson
Released: October 7, 1923
Type: Movie
An English valet brought to the American west assimilates into the American way of life.
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The Cowboy King
Title: The Cowboy King
Character: Wilbur
Released: May 1, 1922
Type: Movie
"Hadley, owner of a nearby ranch, had fenced off a water hole belonging to Miss Dunlap, thus depriving her stock of water. Undaunted, the young Eastern woman and her two-fisted fighting foreman fought back...
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Handle with Care
Title: Handle with Care
Character: Peter Carter
Released: January 22, 1922
Type: Movie
Handle with Care is a 1922 silent comedy.
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Common Sense
Title: Common Sense
Character: Reggie Barrett
Released: June 1, 1920
Type: Movie
Dan Bowers, embittered and disillusioned by an unhappy marriage, seeks solitude in the Maine woods, with a lame dog as his only companion. One day he meets Violet Manners who, with her invalid mother Marion, is visiting in a nearby village. Marion is haunted by memories of the past, and one day when Violet takes Dan to meet her mother, she discovers that he is the husband who deserted her years ago. The shock causes Marion's death, but before she dies, she justifies her past behavior toward Dan. -From the AFI Catalog of Feature FIlms.