William Dozier

William Dozier

Birth : 1908-02-13, Omaha, Nebraska, USA

Death : 1991-04-23

History

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.

Profile

William Dozier

Movies

Joker: Put on a Happy Face
Self (archive footage)
Featuring interviews with filmmakers and industry legends, discover the origins and evolution of The Joker, and learn why The Clown Prince of Crime is universally hailed as the greatest comic-book supervillain of all time.
American Gigolo
Michelle's Lawyer
Julian makes a lucrative living as an escort to older women in the Los Angeles area. He begins a relationship with Michelle, a local politician's wife, without expecting any pay. One of his clients is murdered and Detective Sunday begins pumping him for details on his different clients, something he is reluctant to do considering the nature of his work. Julian begins to suspect he's being framed. Meanwhile Michelle begins to fall in love with him.
Crisis in Mid-Air
Chairman
The life of a stressed-out air controller falls apart as he battles a court case involving a mid-air collision for which an investigator is trying to hold him responsible.
Evening in Byzantium
William Bast
While the prestigious Cannes Film Festival goes on around him, American movie producer Jesse Craig struggles to develop a pitch-worthy thriller about a terrorist plot. Before long, Craig becomes concerned that a shocking act of real-life terrorism already may be underway. Meanwhile, radical actor Bret Easton works in cahoots with a group of extremists to coordinate the hijacking of a trio of passenger planes in a devastating, multi-city nuclear attack.
The Amazing Howard Hughes
Sen. Ferguson
The Amazing Howard Hughes is a 1977 television movie about American aviation pioneer and filmmaker Howard Hughes, based on the book by Hughes' business partner Noah Dietrich. The film starred Tommy Lee Jones, Ed Flanders, and Tovah Feldshuh.
Mission to Glory: A True Story
Father Argula
Father Kino , a 17th-century Jesuit missionary, dedicated his life to helping Native Americans in the Southwest by teaching them agricultural skills as well as building missions and spreading Christianity. An explorer, astronomer and map maker, Father Kino surmounted numerous challenges as he journeyed through California, Arizona and Mexico.
Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case
Dr. Richard Sheppard, Sr.
The story of Dr. Sam Sheppard, an Ohio doctor convicted of murdering his wife, despite his vehement denials of the crime.
The Big Bounce
Producer
A Vietnam veteran and ex-con is persuaded by a shady woman to rob a $50,000 payroll account on a California produce farm. But who is playing who?
Dick Tracy - The Plot To Kill NATO
Executive Producer
Dick Tracy must save a trio of ambassadors who have been kidnapped by Mr. Memory. Pilot for Dick Tracy TV show from Batman's William Dozier.
Dick Tracy - The Plot To Kill NATO
Narrator (voice)
Dick Tracy must save a trio of ambassadors who have been kidnapped by Mr. Memory. Pilot for Dick Tracy TV show from Batman's William Dozier.
Batgirl
Writer
At the Gotham City library, Barbara Gordon helps Bruce Wayne find a book on butterflies so he can prove a point to a friend, a millionaire explorer. As Bruce and his youthful ward, Dick Grayson, are leaving they spot the villainous Killer Moth and three of his henchmen and, suspecting they are up to no good, determine to return as their superhero alter-egos, Batman and Robin. While the Caped Crusaders are donning their costumes, the criminal quartet knock out the millionaire, lock Barbara in an alcove and prepare to spirit their victim away. When the Dynamic Duo attempt to capture the crooks, they are encased in Killer Moth's silk cocoon. Is this the end of our Gotham City heroes? And why does a beautiful librarian have a cowl and a cape hanging in a convenient closet?
Batgirl
Narrator (voice)
At the Gotham City library, Barbara Gordon helps Bruce Wayne find a book on butterflies so he can prove a point to a friend, a millionaire explorer. As Bruce and his youthful ward, Dick Grayson, are leaving they spot the villainous Killer Moth and three of his henchmen and, suspecting they are up to no good, determine to return as their superhero alter-egos, Batman and Robin. While the Caped Crusaders are donning their costumes, the criminal quartet knock out the millionaire, lock Barbara in an alcove and prepare to spirit their victim away. When the Dynamic Duo attempt to capture the crooks, they are encased in Killer Moth's silk cocoon. Is this the end of our Gotham City heroes? And why does a beautiful librarian have a cowl and a cape hanging in a convenient closet?
Batgirl
Director
At the Gotham City library, Barbara Gordon helps Bruce Wayne find a book on butterflies so he can prove a point to a friend, a millionaire explorer. As Bruce and his youthful ward, Dick Grayson, are leaving they spot the villainous Killer Moth and three of his henchmen and, suspecting they are up to no good, determine to return as their superhero alter-egos, Batman and Robin. While the Caped Crusaders are donning their costumes, the criminal quartet knock out the millionaire, lock Barbara in an alcove and prepare to spirit their victim away. When the Dynamic Duo attempt to capture the crooks, they are encased in Killer Moth's silk cocoon. Is this the end of our Gotham City heroes? And why does a beautiful librarian have a cowl and a cape hanging in a convenient closet?
Batgirl
Executive Producer
At the Gotham City library, Barbara Gordon helps Bruce Wayne find a book on butterflies so he can prove a point to a friend, a millionaire explorer. As Bruce and his youthful ward, Dick Grayson, are leaving they spot the villainous Killer Moth and three of his henchmen and, suspecting they are up to no good, determine to return as their superhero alter-egos, Batman and Robin. While the Caped Crusaders are donning their costumes, the criminal quartet knock out the millionaire, lock Barbara in an alcove and prepare to spirit their victim away. When the Dynamic Duo attempt to capture the crooks, they are encased in Killer Moth's silk cocoon. Is this the end of our Gotham City heroes? And why does a beautiful librarian have a cowl and a cape hanging in a convenient closet?
Batman
Narrator / Bat-Computer (voice) (uncredited)
The Dynamic Duo faces four super-villains who plan to hold the world for ransom with the help of a secret invention that instantly dehydrates people.
Batman
Producer
The Dynamic Duo faces four super-villains who plan to hold the world for ransom with the help of a secret invention that instantly dehydrates people.
Stage Struck
Executive In Charge Of Production
A young woman arrives in New York City determined to become a great theatrical star, but discovers that her goal may not be as easily attainable as she had hoped.
Stage Struck
Executive Producer
A young woman arrives in New York City determined to become a great theatrical star, but discovers that her goal may not be as easily attainable as she had hoped.
Back from Eternity
Executive Producer
A South American plane loaded with an assortment of characters crash lands in a remote jungle area in the middle of a storm. The passengers then discover they are in an area inhabited by vicious cannibals and must escape before they are found. A remake of Five Came Back (1939).
Death Is My Neighbor
Executive Producer
A New York City apartment building supervisor has his job and home threatened by a new tenant.
Two of a Kind
Producer
Brandy Kirby and crooked Lawyer Vincent Mailer plan to rob William and Maida McIntyre by producing a convincing double for their long-lost son. Brandy charms gambler Lefty Farrell into impersonating the missing son.
Harriet Craig
Producer
A perfectionist woman's devotion to her home drives away friends and family.
You Gotta Stay Happy
Presenter
Indecisive heiress Dee Dee Dillwood is pushed into marrying her sixth fiancée, but unable to face the wedding night, she flees into the adjacent hotel room of commercial pilot Marvin Payne, who just wants to sleep. She then persuades him to take her to California.
You Gotta Stay Happy
Executive Producer
Indecisive heiress Dee Dee Dillwood is pushed into marrying her sixth fiancée, but unable to face the wedding night, she flees into the adjacent hotel room of commercial pilot Marvin Payne, who just wants to sleep. She then persuades him to take her to California.
Letter from an Unknown Woman
Executive Producer
A pianist about to flee from a duel receives a letter from a woman he cannot remember. As she tells the story of her lifelong love for him, he is forced to reinterpret his own past.