Editing Alan Napier

{{short description|English actor (1903–1988)}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Alan Napier
| image         = Alan Napier 1949.GIF
| caption       = Napier in 1949
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|df=y|1903|01|07}}
| birth_place   = [[Kings Norton|King's Norton]], [[Birmingham]], England
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|df=y|1988|08|08|1903|01|07}}
| death_place   = [[Santa Monica, California]], U.S.
| resting_place = Cremated; ashes scattered in the garden of his home in [[Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles|Pacific Palisades]], California
| education     = [[Clifton College]]
| alma_mater    = [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]]
| birthname     = Alan William Napier-Clavering
| yearsactive   = 1920s&ndash;1981
| spouse        = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Emily Nancy Bevill Pethybridge|1930|1944|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Aileen Dickens Hawksley|1944|1961|end=died}}
}}
}}

'''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]], [[Batman|Bruce Wayne's]] butler in the 1960s live-action ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' [[television]] series.<ref name="AP">{{cite news |title=Alan Napier, 'Batman's' butler, dies |newspaper=[[Ukiah Daily Journal]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=8 August 1988 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1317513/alan_napiers_obituary/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref>

==Early life and career==
Alan William Napier-Clavering was born on 7 January 1903 in Birmingham to Claude Gerald Napier-Clavering, managing director of the Birmingham Guild of Handicraft,<ref>The Kelmscott Press: A History of William Morris's , William S. Peterson, 1991, p. 157</ref> and Millicent Mary, daughter of politician [[William Kenrick (Birmingham MP)|William Kenrick]]. He had two older siblings, Mark (born 1898) and Mary Helen- "Molly"- (born 1900).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Napier |first1=Alan |last2=Bigwood |first2=James |title=Not Just Batman's Butler: The Autobiography of Alan Napier |location=Jefferson, N.C. |publisher=[[McFarland & Co.]] |date=24 September 2015 |isbn=9781476662879 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KUbJCgAAQBAJ |pages=8–9, 15}}</ref> The Napier-Clavering family were landed gentry- the senior line owning Axwell Park near [[Gateshead]] until 1920- and descended from [[Francis Napier, 8th Lord Napier]].<ref>A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage and Baronetage, the Privy Council, Knightage, and Companionage, 92nd edition, vol. 2, Burke's Peerage, 1934, p. 1760</ref>

Napier was a first cousin-once removed of [[Neville Chamberlain]],<ref>{{cite news |title="Good Old Neville" Draws Support from Actor-Cousin |newspaper=Bradford Evening Star |agency=[[United Press]] |date=9 May 1940 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1317517/alan_napiers_support_for_his_cousin/ |via = [[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref> Britain's prime minister from 1937 to 1940. He was educated at [[Packwood Haugh School]] and,<ref>{{cite web |title=After Packwood |url=http://www.packwood-haugh.co.uk/information/old-packwoodians/after-packwood.../ |website=[[Packwood Haugh School]] |access-date=26 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919134234/http://www.packwood-haugh.co.uk/information/old-packwoodians/after-packwood.../ |archive-date=19 September 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> after leaving [[Clifton College]],<ref>"Clifton College Register" Muirhead, J.A.O. pp446/77: Bristol; J.W Arrowsmith for Old Cliftonian Society; April 1948.</ref> he studied at the [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]], graduating in 1925.<ref>{{cite web |title=Student & Graduate profiles |url=https://www.rada.ac.uk/profiles/?q=1925&page=4 |website=[[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]] |access-date=19 March 2022}}</ref>

Napier was engaged by the Oxford Players, where he worked with the likes of [[John Gielgud]] and [[Robert Morley]]. As Napier recalled, his "ridiculously tall" {{convert|6|ft|6|in}} height<ref>{{Cite news
 | last1 = Oldham
 | first1 = Michael
 | title = 'Batman' Butler Alan Napier's Castellammare Home
 | newspaper = [[Palisadian-Post]]
 | location = [[Pacific Palisades, California]]
 | date = 8 November 2018
 | url = https://www.palipost.com/batman-butler-alan-napiers-castellammare-home/
 | access-date = 28 December 2019
 | url-access = subscription}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Eagle">{{cite news |title=Alan Napier Gets There in Spite of Skyscraper Effect |newspaper=[[Brooklyn Eagle|Brooklyn Daily Eagle]] |date=5 May 1940 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1313488/alan_napier_is_tall/ |via = [[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Eagle" /> 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.<ref name="page199" />

Napier made his American stage debut as the romantic lead opposite [[Gladys George]] in ''Lady in Waiting''.<ref name="Eagle" /> Though his film career had begun in Britain in the 1930s, he had very little success before the cameras until he joined the British expatriate community in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] in 1941. There he spent time with such people as [[James Whale]], a fellow ex-Oxford Player. He appeared in such films as ''[[Random Harvest (film)|Random Harvest]]'' (1942), ''[[Cat People (1942 film)|Cat People]]'' (1942), and ''[[The Uninvited (1944 film)|The Uninvited]]'' (1944). In ''[[The Song of Bernadette (film)|The Song of Bernadette]]'' (1943), he played the ethically questionable psychiatrist who is hired to declare Bernadette mentally ill.  He also played the vicious Earl of Warwick in ''[[Joan of Arc (1948 film)|Joan of Arc]]'' (1948).  He performed in two [[Shakespeare]]an films: the [[Orson Welles]] ''[[Macbeth (1948 film)|Macbeth]]'' (1948), in which he played a priest that Welles added to the story, who spoke lines originally uttered by other characters, and [[MGM]]'s ''[[Julius Caesar (1953 film)|Julius Caesar]]'' (1953), as [[Cicero]]. He appeared as Mr. Rutland in the Hitchcock movie ''[[Marnie (film)|Marnie]]'' (1964).

In 1949, Napier made an appearance on the short-lived [[television anthology series]] ''[[Your Show Time]]'' as [[Sherlock Holmes]], in an adaptation of "[[The Adventure of the Speckled Band]]".<ref>{{cite book |last=Barnes|first=Alan| authorlink=Alan Barnes (writer) |title=Sherlock Holmes on Screen |year=2011 |publisher=[[Titan Books]]|page=311 |isbn=9780857687760}}</ref> In the 1950s, he appeared on TV in four episodes of ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' and guest starred on [[Dale Robertson]]'s [[NBC]] [[Western (genre)|western]] series ''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]]''. He had a recurring role as General Steele on the 1962–1963 situation comedy ''[[Don't Call Me Charlie!]]''

==''Batman''==
In 1965, Napier was the first to be cast in the ''Batman'' TV series,<ref name="mercury">{{cite news |url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/birmingham-actor-was-batmans-butler-237570 |title=Birmingham actor was Batman's butler |work=[[Sunday Mercury]] |location=[[Birmingham]], England |date=3 January 2009 |access-date=30 July 2020}}</ref> as Bruce Wayne's faithful butler Alfred, a role he played until the series' cancellation in 1968. <blockquote>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.<ref name="mercury" /></blockquote>

==Later life and career==
Napier's career extended into the 1980s with roles on television, including the miniseries ''[[QB VII (miniseries)|QB VII]]'', ''[[The Bastard (miniseries)|The Bastard]]'', and ''[[Centennial (miniseries)|Centennial]]'', and the drama ''[[The Paper Chase (TV series)|The Paper Chase]]''. He retired in 1981, aged 78.

In early 1988, Napier appeared on the late-night talk show [[The Late Show (1986 talk show)|''The Late Show'']] as part of a reunion of the surviving cast of ''Batman'', despite being in a wheelchair.<ref name="page199" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=qBgRJ0PEte4 |title=Alan Napier's Disappointing Final TV Appearance - The Late Show with Ross Shafer, April 28, 1988 |date=20 July 2021 |publisher=Forgotten Media |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> 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.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

==Family==
Napier was twice married. His second wife, Aileen Dickens Hawksley, was a great-granddaughter of novelist [[Charles Dickens]].<ref name="page199">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KUbJCgAAQBAJ&q=Aileen+Dickens+Hawksley&pg=PA199 |title=Not Just Batman's Butler: The Autobiography of Alan Napier |last1=Napier |first1=Alan |last2=Bigwood |first2=James |date=24 September 2015 |location=Jefferson, N.C. |publisher=[[McFarland & Co.]] |isbn=9781476662879 |page=199 |language=en}}</ref> Hawksley'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]]''.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://variety.com/1993/scene/people-news/jennifer-raine-bissell-102962/ |title=Jennifer Raine Bissell |date=14 January 1993 |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |access-date=3 November 2018 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==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|Santa Monica]], [[California]]. He was 85 years old.<ref name="AP" />

==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."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Alan Napier |magazine=[[Films in Review]] |date=February 1979 |volume=XXX |issue=2}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/not-just-batmans-butler/|title=Not Just Batman's Butler - McFarland|website=mcfarlandbooks.com}}</ref>

==Partial filmography==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* ''[[Caste (1930 film)|Caste]]'' (1930) as Capt. Hawtree
* ''[[Stamboul (film)|Stamboul]]'' (1931) as Bouchier
* ''[[In a Monastery Garden (film)|In a Monastery Garden]]'' (1932) as Count Romano
* ''[[Loyalties (1933 film)|Loyalties]]'' (1933) as Gen. Canynge
* ''[[Wings Over Africa]]'' (1936) as Redfern
* ''[[For Valour (1937 film)|For Valour]]'' (1937) as General
* ''[[The Wife of General Ling]]'' (1937) as Governor
* ''[[The Four Just Men (1939 film)|The Four Just Men]]'' (1939) as Sir Hamar Ryman
* ''[[We Are Not Alone (1939 film)|We Are Not Alone]]'' (1939) as Archdeacon
* ''[[The Invisible Man Returns]] '' (1940) as Willie Spears
* ''[[The House of the Seven Gables (film)|The House of the Seven Gables]]'' (1940) as Fuller
* ''[[Confirm or Deny]]'' (1940) as Updyke (scenes deleted)
* ''[[Eagle Squadron (film)|Eagle Squadron]]'' (1942) as Black Watch officer
* ''[[A Yank at Eton]]'' (1942) as Restaurateur (uncredited)
* ''[[Cat People (1942 film)|Cat People]]'' (1942) as Doc Carver (uncredited)
* ''[[Random Harvest (film)|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 (film)|Madame Curie]]'' (1943) as Dr. Bladh (uncredited)
* ''[[The Song of Bernadette (film)|The Song of Bernadette]]'' (1943) as Dr. Debeau (uncredited)
* ''[[Lost Angel (film)|Lost Angel]]'' (1943) as Dr. Woodring
* ''[[The Uninvited (1944 film)|The Uninvited]]'' (1944) as Dr. Scott
* ''[[Action in Arabia]]'' (1944) as Eric Latimer
* ''[[The Hairy Ape (film)|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 film)|Dark Waters]]'' (1944) as The Doctor (uncredited)
* ''[[Mademoiselle Fifi (film)|Mademoiselle Fifi]]'' (1944) as The Count de Breville
* ''[[Hangover Square]]'' (1945) as Sir Henry Chapman
* ''[[Isle of the Dead (film)|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 film)|Sinbad the Sailor]]'' (1947) as Aga
* ''[[Fiesta (1947 film)|Fiesta]]'' (1947) as The Tourist
* ''[[High Conquest]]'' (1947) as Tommy Donlin
* ''[[Ivy (1947 film)|Ivy]]'' (1947) as Sir Jonathan Wright
* ''[[Adventure Island (film)|Adventure Island]]'' (1947) as Attwater
* ''[[Lured]]'' (1947) as Detective Gordon
* ''[[Driftwood (1947 film)|Driftwood]]'' (1947) as Dr. Nicholas Adams
* ''[[Unconquered (1947 film)|Unconquered]]'' (1947) as [[Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet|Sir William Johnson]]
* ''[[Forever Amber (film)|Forever Amber]]'' (1947) as Landale
* ''[[The Lone Wolf in London]]'' (1947) as Monty Beresford
* ''[[Johnny Belinda (1948 film)|Johnny Belinda]]'' (1948) as Defense Attorney
* ''[[Macbeth (1948 film)|Macbeth]]'' (1948) as A Holy Father
* ''[[Joan of Arc (1948 film)|Joan of Arc]]'' (1948) as Earl of Warwick
* ''[[Hills of Home (film)|Hills of Home]]'' (1948) as Sir George
* ''[[Criss Cross (1949 film)|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 film)|A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court]]'' (1949) as High Executioner
* ''[[Manhandled (1949 film)|Manhandled]]'' (1949) as Alton Bennet
* ''[[The Red Danube]]'' (1949) as The General
* ''[[Challenge to Lassie]]'' (1949) as Lord Provost
* ''[[Master Minds (1949 film)|Master Minds]]'' (1949) as Dr. Druzik
* ''[[Tripoli (film)|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 film)|The Highwayman]]'' (1951) as Barton
* ''[[Across the Wide Missouri (film)|Across the Wide Missouri]]'' (1951) as Capt. Humberstone Lyon
* ''[[The Blue Veil (1951 film)|The Blue Veil]]'' (1951) as Prof. George Carter
* ''[[The Strange Door]]'' (1951) as Count Grassin
* ''[[Big Jim McLain]]'' (1952) as Sturak
* ''[[Julius Caesar (1953 film)|Julius Caesar]]'' (1953) as Cicero
* ''[[Young Bess]]'' (1953) as Robert Tyrwhitt
* ''[[Désirée (film)|Désirée]]'' (1954) as Despreaux
* ''[[Moonfleet (film)|Moonfleet]]'' (1955) as Parson Glennie
* ''[[The Court Jester]]'' (1956) as Sir Brockhurst
* ''[[Miami Exposé]]'' (1956) as Raymond Sheridan
* ''[[The Mole People (film)|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 film)|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 film)|Tender Is the Night]]'' (1962) as Señor Pardo
* ''[[The Premature Burial (film)|The Premature Burial]]'' (1962) as Dr. Gideon Gault
* ''[[The Sword in the Stone (1963 film)|The Sword in the Stone]]'' (1963) as Sir Pellinore (voice)
* ''[[Marnie (film)|Marnie]]'' (1964) as Mr. Rutland
* ''[[Mary Poppins (film)|Mary Poppins]]'' (1964) as Huntsman / Reporter #3 / Hound (voice, uncredited)
* ''[[My Fair Lady (film)|My Fair Lady]]'' (1964) as Gentleman who escorts Eliza to the Queen of Transylvania (uncredited)
* ''[[Signpost to Murder]]'' (1964) as The Vicar
* ''[[36 Hours (1965 film)|36 Hours]]'' (1964) as Col. Peter MacLean 
* ''[[The Loved One (film)|The Loved One]]'' (1965) as English Club Official
* ''[[Batman (1966 film)|Batman]]'' (1966) as [[Alfred Pennyworth]]
{{div col end}}

==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 (Alfred Hitchcock Presents)|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
* ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|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 (TV series)|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 (1967 TV series)|Ironside]]'' (1970, 1973, 1974)
* ''[[QB VII (miniseries)|QB VII]]'' (1974 miniseries) as Semple
* ''[[The Bastard (miniseries)|The Bastard]]'' (1978 miniseries) as Dr. Bleeker
* ''[[Centennial (miniseries)|Centennial]]'' (1979 miniseries) as Lord Venneford

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* {{IMDb name|0621002}}
*{{IBDB name}}
*{{Iobdb name|34046}}

{{s-start}}
{{succession box
| before = '''Eric Wilton'''
| title  = [[Alfred Pennyworth|Alfred Pennyworth Actor]]
| years  = 1966–1968
| after  = [[Michael Gough]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Napier, Alan}}
[[Category:1903 births]]
[[Category:1988 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century English male actors]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]]
[[Category:Burials at Chapel of the Pines Crematory]]
[[Category:English expatriate male actors in the United States]]
[[Category:English male film actors]]
[[Category:English male television actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from Birmingham, West Midlands]]
[[Category:People educated at Clifton College]]