William Augustin

Biography

William Augustin Flaherty was born in South Boston on June 3, 1891 to parents B. Herbert and Mary A. (Cronin) Flaherty. He was educated first in Milton, Massachusetts and later the Boston Latin School. He entered the stage at age 18 and played in stock companies throughout the East and was also on the legitimate stage for many years, later organizing his own stock company under the name of the Augustin Players. While performing on Broadway, he was at one time a leading man for Mae West. His younger brother, Herbert was also a performer in some of the early plays. During WWI he served as a First Lieut. of the 101st Infantry unit. and was wounded in the battle of Argonne and awarded the Purple Cross. In 1932 he began work in Hollywood and accepted a variety of character roles. Often he was cast as a policeman or a detective. He appeared in films that starred a variety of greats including: Betty Grable, Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, William Powell, Cary Grant, Spencer Tracy, W.C. Fields, and Edgar Kennedy. Tragically, while returning East to visit his family in 1934 he was accidentally killed in an automobile accident at Richmond, Indiana on July 19th 1934. His sister, Mrs. Veronica Johnson was also severely injured in the accident while a passenger in the car. He was buried in the Milton Cemetery and was survived by his wife, Jackie.