---
name: "William Austin"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/william-austin"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "10 June 1884"
died: "15 June 1975"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-19T22:33:48.271858+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# William Austin

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

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 10 June 1884, Georgetown, British Guiana [now Guyana]
- **Died:** 15 June 1975
- **Active:** 1933–1934
- **Also known as:** William Crosby Piercy Austin
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Austin_(actor), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8004706, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0042552/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/134268

## Biography

William Austin (also credited as William Crosby Piercy Austin) was a British character actor. Born in Georgetown, British Guiana, he moved to England for his education after his father's death and later worked in business in Shanghai before settling in the United States to pursue acting.

He began his film career in the early 1920s and appeared in numerous American films and serials through the 1940s, often in small or uncredited roles. He is noted for his performance as the sidekick to Clara Bow in *It* (1927) and for playing Alfred, Batman's butler, in the 1943 serial *Batman*. Austin also appeared as the Duke of Cleves in *The Private Life of Henry VIII* (1933) and as Cyril Glossop in *The Gay Divorcee* (1934). He was the brother of actor Albert Austin and worked briefly as a film editor.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *The Gay Divorcee* (1934), Fi1m 79, as Cyril Glossop — [page](https://film.one/film/the-gay-divorcee.md)

## Complete filmography (74)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Campus Sleuth* (1948), Editor
- *The Ghost Goes Wild* (1947), as Barnaby
- *Alias Mr. Twilight* (1946), as Forbes (uncredited)
- *Swingin' on a Rainbow* (1945), as Musician (uncredited)
- *National Velvet* (1945), as Reporter (uncredited)
- *The Return of the Vampire* (1943), as Detective Gannett
- *Batman* (1943), as Alfred
- *Charley's Aunt* (1941), as Spectator
- *The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes* (1939), as Inquisitive Stranger
- *Doctor Rhythm* (1938), as Mr. Martingale
- *Live, Love and Learn* (1937), as Bob's Butler (uncredited)
- *Renfrew of the Royal Mounted* (1937), as Constable Holly
- *The Garden Murder Case* (1936), as Sneed, Hammle's Butler (Uncredited)
- *$1,000 a Minute* (1935), as Salesman
- *The Goose and the Gander* (1935), as Arthur Summers
- *Redheads on Parade* (1935), as Trelawney Redfern
- *Oil for the Lamps of China* (1935), as Clerk in Chase's office
- *Imitation of Life* (1934), as Englishman at Party (uncredited)
- *The Gay Divorcee* (1934), as Cyril Glossop — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/the-gay-divorcee.md)
- *Once to Every Bachelor* (1934), as Mathews
- *Alice in Wonderland* (1933), as Gryphon
- *The Private Life of Henry VIII* (1933), as Duke of Cleves
- *Three Men in a Boat* (1933), as Harris
- *High Society* (1932), as Wilberforce Strangeways
- *County Hospital* (1932), as Ollie's Hospital Roommate
- *Rule 'Em and Weep* (1932), as Duke
- *Corsair* (1931), as Richard Bentinck
- *A Tailor-Made Man* (1931), as Jellicott
- *Along Came Youth* (1930), as Lord Eustace
- *Let's Go Native* (1930), as Basil Pistol
- *The Flirting Widow* (1930), as James Raleigh
- *The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu* (1930), as Sylvester Wadsworth
- *Paramount on Parade* (1930), as Partygoer ('Impulses') (uncredited)
- *The Man from Blankley's* (1930), as Mr. Poffley
- *Embarrassing Moments* (1930), as Jasper Hickson
- *The Marriage Playground* (1929), as Lord Wrench
- *Sweetie* (1929), as Prof. Percy Willow
- *Illusion* (1929), as Mr. Z
- *The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu* (1929), as Sylvester Wadsworth
- *What a Night!* (1928), as Percy Penfield
- *Someone to Love* (1928), as Aubrey Weems
- *Just Married* (1928), as Percy Jones
- *The Fifty-Fifty Girl* (1928), as Engineer
- *Red Hair* (1928), as Dr. Eustace Gill
- *Drums of Love* (1928), as Raymond of Boston
- *Honeymoon Hate* (1927), as Banning-Green
- *Silk Stockings* (1927), as George Bagnall
- *Swim Girl, Swim* (1927), as Mr. Spangle PhD.
- *The World At Her Feet* (1927), as Det. Hall
- *Ritzy* (1927), as Algy
- *Duck Soup* (1927), as Lord Tarbotham
- *It* (1927), as Monty Montgomery
- *One Hour of Love* (1927), as Louis Carruthers
- *The Flaming Forest* (1926), as Alfred Wimbledon
- *West of Broadway* (1926), as Mortimer Allison
- *Her Big Night* (1926), as Harold Crosby, cub reporter
- *Fig Leaves* (1926), as Andre's Assistant
- *The Far Cry* (1926), as Eric Lancefield
- *What Happened to Jones?* (1926), as Henry Fuller
- *The Fate of a Flirt* (1925), as Riggs
- *The Best People* (1925), as Arthur Rockmere
- *Seven Days* (1925), as Dal Brown
- *The Night Club* (1925), as Gerly - The Valet
- *Head Winds* (1925), as Theodore Van Felt
- *Who Cares* (1925), as Dr. Harry Oldershaw
- *In Love with Love* (1924), as George Sears
- *The Garden of Weeds* (1924), as Archie
- *The Enemy Sex* (1924), as Joe's Friend (uncredited)
- *The Reckless Age* (1924), as Lord Allan Harrowby
- *Ruggles of Red Gap* (1923), as Mr. Belknap-Jackson
- *Rich Men's Wives* (1922), as Reggie
- *The Cowboy King* (1922), as Wilbur
- *Handle with Care* (1922), as Peter Carter
- *Common Sense* (1920), as Reggie Barrett

## Gallery

- ![William Austin](https://film.one/media/person/1226557/gallery-0f943f3264a7.jpg) William Austin — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Actor_William_Austin_%28SAYRE_2701%29_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Actor William Austin. Subjects (LCTGM): actors (1925)](https://film.one/media/person/1226557/gallery-a4aebebe6bdf.jpg) Actor William Austin. Subjects (LCTGM): actors (1925) — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/Actor_William_Austin_%28SAYRE_2701%29.jpg/1280px-Actor_William_Austin_%28SAYRE_2701%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Film actor William Austin. Subjects (LCTGM): actors (1927)](https://film.one/media/person/1226557/gallery-979144f4ac8e.jpg) Film actor William Austin. Subjects (LCTGM): actors (1927) — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Film_actor_William_Austin_%28SAYRE_2968%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/william-austin