
William Dozier
Personal Info
Known for
Production
Gender
Male
Birthday
1908-02-13
Day of Death
1991-04-23 (83 years old)
Place of Birth
Omaha, Nebraska, USA
William Dozier
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.
Acting
(2020)
Be Water
as Self (archive footage)
(2020)
Joker: Put on a Happy Face
as Self (archive footage)
(1999)
Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1982)
Not Just Another Affair
as Julius Thompkins
(1980)
American Gigolo
as Michelle's Lawyer
(1979)
Crisis in Mid-Air
as Chairman
(1978)
Evening in Byzantium
as William Bast
(1977)
Mission to Glory: A True Story
as Father Argula
(1977)
The Amazing Howard Hughes
as Sen. Ferguson
(1975)
Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case
as Dr. Richard Sheppard, Sr.
(1967)
Dick Tracy - The Plot To Kill NATO
as Narrator (voice)
(1967)
Batgirl
as Narrator (voice)
(1966)
Batman
as Narrator / Bat-Computer (voice) (uncredited)
Crew
(1969)
The Big Bounce
Producer
(1967)
Dick Tracy - The Plot To Kill NATO
Executive Producer
(1967)
Batgirl
Director, Executive Producer, Writer
(1966)
Batman
Producer
(1958)
Stage Struck
Executive Producer, Executive In Charge Of Production
(1956)
Back from Eternity
Executive Producer
(1953)
Death Is My Neighbor
Executive Producer
(1951)
Two of a Kind
Producer
(1950)
Harriet Craig
Producer
(1948)
Letter from an Unknown Woman
Executive Producer
(1948)
You Gotta Stay Happy
Presenter, Executive Producer
(1947)
Slave Girl
Producer