Albert Austin

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This article is about Actor and film star. For the U.S. Representative from Connecticut, see Albert E. Austin.

Albert Austin (13 December 1881 or 1885 - 17 August 1953) was an actor, film star, director and script writer, primarily in the days of silent movies. He was born in Birmingham, England. He was the brother of actor William Austin.

He worked for Charlie Chaplin's Stock Company and played supporting roles in many of Chaplin's films, and working as his assistant director. After the development of sound films, he moved into scriptwriting, chiefly of comedy short subjects. He had a brief, uncredited role 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.: a notable credit, since the rest of the film consists of Chaplin performing solo; Austin is therefore the only other actor in this movie (unless one counts a brief appearance by a cat).

Austin's best performance may be in Chaplin's short The Pawnshop. Austin enters the shop with an alarm clock, hoping to pawn it for a small sum. To establish the clock's value, Chaplin dissects it. Austin admirably maintains a deadpan expression as Chaplin progressively destroys his clock, then hands the pieces back to Austin ... whose final response is hilarious.

For a rare look at Albert without his comic mustache, see Mary Pickford's Suds (1920) where he co-stars as a customer leaving his shirt at her laundry.

Reports suggest that Austin spent his last 11 years of his life as a guard at Warner Brothers studio.