William Dozier

Birthday: 1908-02-13
Deathday: 1991-04-23
Birthplace: Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Gender: Male
Owned By: Unowned

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.

Credits

Year Title Character
1982-10-01 Not Just Another Affair Julius Thompkins
1980-02-01 American Gigolo Michelle's Lawyer
1979-02-13 Crisis in Mid-Air Chairman
1978-08-14 Evening in Byzantium William Bast
1977-04-13 The Amazing Howard Hughes Sen. Ferguson
1977-01-01 Mission to Glory: A True Story Father Argula
1975-11-17 Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case Dr. Richard Sheppard, Sr.