Alfred Pennyworth was created by the writers of the 1943 Batman serial—Victor McLeod, Leslie Swabacker, and Harry Fraser—and that DC Comics asked Don Cameron to write the first Alfred story, which was released earlier to the serial's airing. In Alfred's first appearance, he was overweight and clean-shaven; however, when the 1943 "Batman" serial was released, William Austin, the actor who played Alfred, was trim and sported a thin moustache. DC editors wanted the comic Alfred to resemble his cinematic counterpart, so in "Detective Comics" #83 (January 1944), Alfred vacationed at a health resort, where he slimmed down and grew a mustache. This
Matthew Butler and Matthew Calbraith Perry, for whom Matthew Calbraith Butler is named. His father, William Butler, Jr., was a Congressman beginning in 1841. His uncle Andrew Butler was a U.S. Senator from South Carolina and uncle Pierce Mason Butler was Governor of South Carolina. One of Matthew Butler's first cousins was Congressman Preston Brooks, who assaulted Senator Charles Sumner in 1856 on the floor of the U.S. Senate with a cane. He said it was because Sumner had insulted Senator Andrew Butler, at whose home Matthew lived as a young man. Two of Butler's first cousins twice removed were James Bonham