Alan Napier
Alan Napier | |
---|---|
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art | |
Years active | 1920s–1981 |
Spouses | Emily Nancy Bevill Pethybridge
(m. 1930; div. 1944)Aileen Dickens Hawksley
(m. 1944; died 1961) |
Alan William Napier-Clavering (7 January 1903 – 8 August 1988), better known as Alan Napier, was an English actor. After a decade in West End theatre, he had a long film career in Britain and later on in Hollywood. Napier is best remembered for portraying Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's butler in the 1960s live-action Batman television series.[1]
Early life and career
He was born Alan William Napier-Clavering on 7 January 1903 in Birmingham to Claude and Millicent (née Kenrick) Napier-Clavering. He had two older siblings, Mark (born five years earlier) and Molly (born two and a half years earlier).[2]
Napier was a first cousin-once removed of
He was engaged by the Oxford Players, where he worked with the likes of John Gielgud and Robert Morley. As Napier recalled, his "ridiculously tall" 6'6" height[7] almost cost him his position immediately after he secured it. J. B. Fagan had dismissed Tyrone Guthrie because he was too tall for most parts.[8] Napier was interviewed (and accepted) as Guthrie's replacement while sitting down. Fagan realized that Napier was even taller than Guthrie when he stood up, but honoured his commitment.[8] Napier performed for ten years (1929–1939) on the West End stage. Napier described himself as having a particular affinity for the work of George Bernard Shaw, and in 1937 appeared in a London revival of Heartbreak House supervised by Shaw himself.[9]
He made his American stage debut as the romantic lead opposite
(1964).In 1949, he made an appearance on the short-lived
Batman
In 1965, he was the first to be cast in the Batman TV series,[11] as Bruce Wayne's faithful butler Alfred, a role he played until the series' cancellation in 1968.
I had never read comics before [I was hired for Batman]. My agent rang up and said, 'I think you are going to play on "Batman,"' I said 'What is "Batman"?' He said, 'Don't you read the comics?' I said, 'No, never.' He said, 'I think you are going to be Batman's butler.' I said, 'How do I know I want to be Batman's butler?' It was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard of. He said, 'It may be worth over $100,000.' So I said I was Batman's butler.[11]
Later life and career
Napier's career extended into the 1980s with roles on television, including the miniseries
In early 1988, Napier appeared on the late-night talk show The Late Show as part of a reunion of the surviving cast of Batman, despite being in a wheelchair.[9][12] His co-star Yvonne Craig described the reunion show as overbooked, and when host Ross Shafer finally turned his attention to Napier, it was only to ask him a silly question, then cut him off abruptly as he was telling a story, much to Napier's annoyance. Napier did not participate in the subsequent cast reunion held before his death.[11]
Family
Napier was twice married. His second wife, Aileen Dickens Hawksley, was a great-granddaughter of novelist Charles Dickens.[9] Hawsley's daughter from a previous marriage, actress Jennifer Raine, was the mother of former child actor Brian Forster, best known as "Chris Partridge" on the 1970s television show The Partridge Family.[13]
Death
Napier suffered a stroke in 1987, was hospitalized from June 1988, and was gravely ill for several days before his death of natural causes on 8 August 1988, in the Berkeley East Convalescent Hospital in Santa Monica, California. He was 85 years old.[1]
Autobiography
In the early 1970s, Napier wrote a three-volume autobiography which was not published at the time because, as he joked, "I haven't committed a major crime and I'm not known to have slept with any famous actresses."[14] In 2015, McFarland Press published the book under the title Not Just Batman's Butler, with Napier's original text annotated and updated by James Bigwood.[citation needed]
Partial filmography
- Caste (1930) as Capt. Hawtree
- Stamboul (1931) as Bouchier
- In a Monastery Garden (1932) as Count Romano
- Loyalties (1933) as Gen. Canynge
- Wings Over Africa (1936) as Redfern
- For Valour (1937) as General
- The Wife of General Ling (1937) as Governor
- The Four Just Men (1939) as Sir Hamar Ryman
- We Are Not Alone (1939) as Archdeacon
- The Invisible Man Returns (1940) as Willie Spears
- The House of the Seven Gables (1940) as Fuller
- Confirm or Deny (1940) as Updyke (scenes deleted)
- Eagle Squadron (1942) as Black Watch officer
- A Yank at Eton (1942) as Restaurateur (uncredited)
- Cat People (1942) as Doc Carver (uncredited)
- Random Harvest (1942) as Julian
- Assignment in Brittany (1943) as Sam Wells
- Appointment in Berlin (1943) as Col. Patterson (uncredited)
- Lassie Come Home (1943) as Jock
- Madame Curie (1943) as Dr. Bladh (uncredited)
- The Song of Bernadette (1943) as Dr. Debeau (uncredited)
- Lost Angel (1943) as Dr. Woodring
- The Uninvited (1944) as Dr. Scott
- Action in Arabia (1944) as Eric Latimer
- The Hairy Ape (1944) as MacDougald, Chief Engineer
- Ministry of Fear (1944) as Dr. JM Forrester
- Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) as Mr. Parker
- Dark Waters (1944) as The Doctor (uncredited)
- Mademoiselle Fifi (1944) as The Count de Breville
- Hangover Square (1945) as Sir Henry Chapman
- Isle of the Dead (1945) as St. Aubyn
- Three Strangers (1946) as David Shackleford
- House of Horrors (1946) as F. Holmes Harmon
- A Scandal in Paris (1946) as Houdon De Pierremont, Police Minister
- The Strange Woman (1946) as Judge Henry Saladine
- Sinbad the Sailor (1947) as Aga
- Fiesta (1947) as The Tourist
- High Conquest (1947) as Tommy Donlin
- Ivy (1947) as Sir Jonathan Wright
- Adventure Island (1947) as Attwater
- Lured (1947) as Detective Gordon
- Driftwood (1947) as Dr. Nicholas Adams
- Unconquered (1947) as Sir William Johnson
- Forever Amber (1947) as Landale
- The Lone Wolf in London (1947) as Monty Beresford
- Johnny Belinda (1948) as Defense Attorney
- Macbeth (1948) as A Holy Father
- Joan of Arc (1948) as Earl of Warwick
- Hills of Home (1948) as Sir George
- Criss Cross(1949) as Finchley
- My Own True Love (1949) as Kittredge
- Tarzan's Magic Fountain (1949) as Douglas Jessup
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949) as High Executioner
- Manhandled (1949) as Alton Bennet
- The Red Danube (1949) as The General
- Challenge to Lassie (1949) as Lord Provost
- Master Minds (1949) as Dr. Druzik
- Tripoli (1950) as Khalil
- Double Crossbones (1951) as Capt. Kidd
- Tarzan's Peril (1951) as Commissioner Peters
- The Great Caruso (1951) as Jean de Reszke
- The Highwayman (1951) as Barton
- Across the Wide Missouri (1951) as Capt. Humberstone Lyon
- The Blue Veil (1951) as Prof. George Carter
- The Strange Door (1951) as Count Grassin
- Big Jim McLain (1952) as Sturak
- Julius Caesar(1953) as Cicero
- Young Bess (1953) as Robert Tyrwhitt
- Désirée (1954) as Despreaux
- Moonfleet (1955) as Parson Glennie
- The Court Jester (1956) as Sir Brockhurst
- Miami Exposé (1956) as Raymond Sheridan
- The Mole People(1956) as Elinu, the High Priest
- Until They Sail (1957) as Prosecution Attorney
- Island of Lost Women (1959) as Dr. Paul Lujan
- Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) as Dean
- Wild in the Country (1961) as Prof. Joe B. Larson (uncredited)
- Tender Is the Night(1962) as Señor Pardo
- The Premature Burial(1962) as Dr. Gideon Gault
- The Sword in the Stone (1963) as Sir Pellinore (voice)
- Marnie (1964) as Mr. Rutland
- Mary Poppins (1964) as Huntsman / Reporter #3 / Hound (voice, uncredited)
- My Fair Lady (1964) as Gentleman who escorts Eliza to the Queen of Transylvania (uncredited)
- Signpost to Murder (1964) as The Vicar
- 36 Hours(1964) as Col. Peter MacLean
- The Loved One (1965) as English Club Official
- Batman (1966) as Alfred Pennyworth
Partial television credits
- Your Show Time (1949) Season 1 Episode 10: "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" as Sherlock Holmes
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) Season 1 Episode 5: "Into Thin Air" aka "The Vanishing Lady" as Sir Everett
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1956) Season 1 Episode 26: "Whodunit" as Wilfred - The Recording Angel
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1957) Season 2 Episodes 25, 26, 27: "I Killed the Count" Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 as Lord Sorrington
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1959) Season 4 Episode 24: "The Avon Emeralds" as Sir Charles Harrington
- Don't Call Me Charlie! (1962–1963 TV series), recurring role as General Steele
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour(1963) (Season 1 Episode 26: "An Out for Oscar") as Mr. Hodges
- Twilight Zone (1963) episode "Passage on the Lady Anne" as Captain Protheroe
- Daniel Boone (1964 TV series) (1965) S1/E26-27 "Cain's Birthday" (Parts 1 & 2) as Colonel Sir Hubert Crater
- Daniel Boone (1964 TV series) (1965) S2/E13 "The Perilous Journey" as Lord Brisbane
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour(1965) (Season 3 Episode 22: "Thou Still Unravished Bride") as Guerny, Sr.
- Batman (1966-1968) as Alfred Pennyworth
- The Beverly Hillbillies (1967) Episode "The Clampetts In London" as Chemist
- Family Affair (1969) S3/E17 "Oh to be in England" as Mr. Wills
- Ironside (1970, 1973, 1974)
- QB VII (1974 miniseries) as Semple
- The Bastard(1978 miniseries) as Dr. Bleeker
- Centennial (1979 miniseries) as Lord Venneford
References
- ^
- ISBN 9781476662879.
- ^ "After Packwood". Packwood Haugh School. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ^ "Clifton College Register" Muirhead, J.A.O. pp446/77: Bristol; J.W Arrowsmith for Old Cliftonian Society; April 1948.
- ^ "Student & Graduate profiles". RADA. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
- ^ Oldham, Michael (8 November 2018), "'Batman' Butler Alan Napier's Castellammare Home", Palisadian-Post, retrieved 28 December 2019
- ^
- ^ ISBN 9781476662879.
- ISBN 9780857687760.
- ^ a b c "Birmingham actor was Batman's butler". Sunday Mercury. 3 January 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
- ^ Alan Napier's Disappointing Final TV Appearance - The Late Show with Ross Shafer, April 28, 1988
- ^ Variety Staff (14 January 1993). "Jennifer Raine Bissell". Variety. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
- ^ "Alan Napier", Films in Review, February 1979, Vol XXX No. 2
External links
- Alan Napier at IMDb
- Alan Napier at the Internet Broadway Database
- Alan Napier at the Internet Off-Broadway Database