Alan Napier

From the distinguished lineage of the Chamberlain line, Alan Napier was born in Kings Norton, Worcestershire, England on January 7, 1903. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and was known for his aristocratic bearing and precisely modulated voice. His career spanned the stage and screen, with his characterisation of Menenius in a 1954 Boston revival of "Coriolanus" being highly praised. Whit Bissell, a cousin of Alan’s, was an actor who achieved fame in both film and television, best known for his role as the evil scientist in the 1957 cult classic film I Was a Teenage Werewolf. He also served many years on the Screen Actors Guild board of directors and in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Jennifer Raine was a distinguished actress in her own right, having appeared in a number of films and television shows, and was married twice, first to Whit Bissell and then to Peter Forster. Jennifer's son Brian Forster, born in Los Angeles, California, was an award-winning child actor of commercials and series, and his great-great-great grandfather was the renowned Charles Dickens. Peter Forster, Jennifer's second husband, was an actor who appeared in Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) and Mannix (1967). This illustrious family of actors, from Alan Napier to Brian Forster, have left behind a legacy of entertainment and influence.