Alan Napier on Becoming Alfred

[BiggieB]

Alan tells how he came to be cast as Alfred, one of the many stories he tells in his autobiography, "Not Just Batman's Butler", coming out in January 2016 from McFarland Press. Look for it on Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com or directly from McFarland.

https://youtu.be/322hBTthoQ0

[weirdkorey]

im super excited to buy this & read it, however does anyone know why his autobiography is coming out so long after he passed away? Just curious, still stoked!

[KustomJeff]

This is what Amazon says about it. It seems he wrote it, but then never did anything with it......

"In January 1966, Alan Napier became a household name on ABC's hit series Batman (1966-1968) as Alfred Pennyworth, loyal butler to the show's title character. This "overnight success" came after 16 years of stage work (and the occasional film) in his native England with another 26 years of film and television work (and the occasional play) in the United States.

In the early 1970s, Napier wrote an autobiography, detailing his childhood as a "poor relation" of Birmingham's famous political family the Chamberlains (Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was a cousin), and his collaborations over the years with the likes of John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, George Bernard Shaw, Noël Coward, Fritz Lang, Otto Preminger and Alfred Hitchcock. Almost 30 years after Napier's death, James Bigwood, who first met the actor in 1975 when interviewing him for a "Films in Review" profile, rediscovered the unpublished manuscript. This is Napier's story in his own words, annotated and updated, with dozens of rare photographs."

[weirdkorey]

This is what Amazon says about it. It seems he wrote it, but then never did anything with it......

"In January 1966, Alan Napier became a household name on ABC's hit series Batman (1966-1968) as Alfred Pennyworth, loyal butler to the show's title character. This "overnight success" came after 16 years of stage work (and the occasional film) in his native England with another 26 years of film and television work (and the occasional play) in the United States.

In the early 1970s, Napier wrote an autobiography, detailing his childhood as a "poor relation" of Birmingham's famous political family the Chamberlains (Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was a cousin), and his collaborations over the years with the likes of John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, George Bernard Shaw, Noël Coward, Fritz Lang, Otto Preminger and Alfred Hitchcock. Almost 30 years after Napier's death, James Bigwood, who first met the actor in 1975 when interviewing him for a "Films in Review" profile, rediscovered the unpublished manuscript. This is Napier's story in his own words, annotated and updated, with dozens of rare photographs."

That is strange that he never had it published, but Im glad we are finally getting to read it! This is awesome news!

[BiggieB]

As you might guess from my screen name, BiggieB, I am Jim Bigwood, Alan's "co-author". I first met Alan in 1975, which is when he first let me read his book. One of his great regrets was that he didn't have a "talent for self-promotion". He definitely had the discipline (and the talent) to write an autobiography (and his writing is really good!), but he never really made an effort to get it published. John Gielgud, who started his career at the same time and at the same theater as Alan described him as "a very charming, beautifully mannered man, but much too modest for his own good," which may help explain things. I contacted Alan's daughter a few years ago and asked her if she would be willing to let me submit the manuscript for publication. She very kindly dug up a copy and gave me the OK. I have annotated Alan's text and added some chapters, including, most importantly, the years between his completion of the book and his death fifteen years later, but as the blurb states, "Not Just Batman's Butler" is primarily Alan's story in Alan's words.

[Aussie Batfan]

Thank you so much Jim for sharing some insight into the evolution of Alan's book. Personally I can't wait to read it.
We often discuss the acting chops and status of some of the 'big' names who appeared on the TV series. However it would seem that Alan's formidable CV often gets overlooked. I hope this upcoming book puts his impressive background in the theatre and film world into perspective.
After all this time, what a treasure to unearth!
Take care,
Terry from Australia