
Person
William Dozier
Production · 1908–1991 · Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Biography
William Dozier was an American TV and movie producer who made it to the top of the TV heap briefly in the mid-1960s with his show "Batman (1966)". Born on February 13, 1908 in Omaha, Nebraska, Dozier was also known for his wives. After divorcing his first wife, he was married to Oscar-winner Joan Fontaine from 1946 to 1951 and to movie star Ann Rutherford from 1953 to his death on April 23, 1991. In 1948, he and Fontaine launched Rampart Productions, which produced "Max Ophüls' Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)" starring his wife, and "You Gotta Stay Happy (1948)", which starred Fontaine and James Stewart. He served as executive producer on both pictures. Turning to TV as the new decade of the Fifties dawned, Dozier produced the series "Danger (1950)", which ran for five years from 1950-55. In the Fifties and Sixties, he continued his career as a TV producer, bringing to the tube the short-lived TV series "Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers (1953)" and "The Loner (1965)". In 1966, he achieved the height of TV success with "Batman" which ran for three seasons and was a cultural sensation. The TV show spun off a "Batman: The Movie (1966)" feature film. That same year, he also launched , a modest success, and "The Tammy Grimes Show (1966)", a notorious flop that shot five episodes and was canceled after four. Dozier retired as a producer after the 1969 movie "The Big Bounce (1969)" flopped, though he enjoyed a modest second career as an actor in the Seventies and early Eighties.
Known for

Batman
Narrator (voice)

Eight Is Enough
1977

The Green Hornet
Narrator

The Loner
Executive Producer

Batman
Narrator / Bat-Computer (voice) (uncredited)

Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones
Mr. Caldwell

American Gigolo
Michelle's Lawyer

Letter from an Unknown Woman
Executive Producer

Joker: Put on a Happy Face
Self (archive footage)

The RKO Story: Tales From Hollywood
Self
Filmography
- 2020Joker: Put on a Happy FaceSelf (archive footage)
- 1999Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1987The RKO Story: Tales From HollywoodSelf
- 1982Not Just Another AffairJulius Thompkins
- 1980Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim JonesMr. Caldwell
- 1980American GigoloMichelle's Lawyer
- 1979Crisis in Mid-AirChairman
- 1978Evening in ByzantiumWilliam Bast
- 1977The Amazing Howard HughesSen. Ferguson
- 1977The Amazing Howard HughesSen. Ferguson
- 1977Eight Is Enough
- 1977Mission to Glory: A True StoryFather Argula
- 1975Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder CaseDr. Richard Sheppard, Sr.
- 1973Batgirl Teaches Batman a Lesson About Equal PayNarrator
- 1969The Big BounceProducer
- 1967Dick Tracy - The Plot To Kill NATONarrator (voice)
- 1967BatgirlNarrator (voice)
- 1966The Green HornetNarrator
- 1966The Tammy Grimes ShowProducer
- 1966BatmanNarrator / Bat-Computer (voice) (uncredited)
- 1966BatmanNarrator (voice)
- 1965The LonerExecutive Producer
- 1958Stage StruckExecutive Producer
- 1956Back from EternityExecutive Producer
- 1953Death Is My NeighborExecutive Producer
- 1951Two of a KindProducer
- 1950Harriet CraigProducer
- 1948You Gotta Stay HappyExecutive Producer
- 1948Letter from an Unknown WomanExecutive Producer
- 1947Slave GirlProducer
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