Alan Napier (January 7, 1903 - August 8, 1988) was a British-born American character actor. He is best known for playing Alfred Pennyworth in the 1960s live-action Batman television series.

The cousin of Neville Chamberlain, Britain's prime minister from 1937 to 1940. was born in Birmingham, England, 1903. He was stagestruck from childhood and after graduating from Clifton College, the tall, booming-voiced Napier studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, then later was engaged by the Oxford Players, where he worked with such raw young talent as John Gielgud and Robert Morley. He continued working with the cream of Britain's acting crop during his ten years (1929-1939) on the West End stages. He came to New York in 1940 to co-star with Gladys George in Lady in Waiting. Though his film career had begun in England in the 1930s, he had very little success before the cameras until he arrived and joined the British community in Hollywood in 1941. There he spent time with such people as James Whale. He usually played dignified, sometimes WASP-ish roles of all sizes in such films as Cat People (1942), The Uninvited (1943), and House of Horror (1946). In 1966, he was the first to be cast on the smash-hit TV series Batman, as Bruce Wayne's faithful butler Alfred, a role he played with delightful gusto until the series' cancellation in 1968. Napier's career extended into the 1980s, with TV roles in such miniseries as QB VII and such weeklies as The Paper Chase. Declining health led to a stroke in 1987, and he died of natural causes in Santa Monica, 1988. His son Charles Napier is also a well known actor.

Selected filmography

• Cat People (1942)
• Batman (1966)

Personal quotes

• "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."

External links

• Alan Napier (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0621002/) at the Internet Movie Database
• Information and photos of Alan Napier (http://www.geocities.com/~1966/anapier.htm)
• 1966 Batman TV Heroes - Alan Napier (http://www.geocities.com/~1966/anapier.htm)