Career Highlights: City Lights, The Immigrant, Easy Street
First Major Screen Credit: Easy Street (1917)
Biography
In the U.S. from 1912 with the famous Fred Karno troupe, gangly British music-hall comic Albert Austin appeared in stock in Denver, CO, for two years before joining fellow Karno comedian Charles Chaplin at Mutual in 1916. One of Chaplin's closest associates, Austin was the shop assistant in The Floorwalker (1916), the trombone player in The Vagabond (1916), and the cab driver in One A. M. (1916). He continued to work for Chaplin through 1931's City Lights, often functioning as an assistant director. During the notoriously long delays in filming, Austin would direct or co-direct such other Chaplin regulars as child stars Jackie Coogan and Dean Reisner. Working as a gag writer in the early sound era, Austin ended his career as a guard at Warner Bros. in Burbank, CA. His brother, William Austin, also enjoyed a long Hollywood career, often playing foppish characters. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
He was born in Birmingham, England, and was a music hall performer before coming to the U.S. with Chaplin, both as members of the Fred Karno troupe, in 1910.
Noted for his painted handlebar mustache and acerbic manner, he worked for Chaplin's stock company and played supporting roles in many of his films, often as a foil to the star, and working as his assistant director.
After the development of sound films, he moved into scriptwriting, directing and acting, chiefly in comedy short subjects. Among other things, he assisted Chaplin in developing the plot of The Adventurer (1917). However, he only received screen credit as a collaborator once, for City Lights.
As an actor, he appeared in Chaplin's comedies for Mutual film corporation. Later he had two brief, uncredited roles in one of Chaplin's 'silent' comedies made in the sound era, City Lights (1931). Austin is also seen very briefly (as a cab driver) at the beginning of Chaplin's short film One A.M..
Austin's best known performance may be in Chaplin's short The Pawnshop. Austin enters the shop with an alarm clock, hoping to pawn it. To establish the clock's value, Chaplin dissects it. Austin maintains a deadpan expression as Chaplin progressively destroys his clock, then hands the pieces back to Austin.
He had the leading role in Mary Pickford's Suds (1920), where he co-stars as a customer leaving his shirt at her laundry. In that movie he appears without his comic mustache.
In his final years he worked as a police officer at the Warner Brothers studios, according to a New York Times obituary.