William Dozier

William Dozier

Born: February 13, 1908
Died: April 23, 1991
in Omaha, Nebraska, USA
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.

Movies for William Dozier...

Joker: Put on a Happy Face
Title: Joker: Put on a Happy Face
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: August 18, 2020
Type: Movie
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.
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Be Water
Title: Be Water
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: January 25, 2020
Type: Movie
In 1971, after being rejected by Hollywood, Bruce Lee returned to his parents’ homeland of Hong Kong to complete four iconic films. Charting his struggles between two worlds, this portrait explores questions of identity and representation through the use of rare archival footage, interviews with loved ones and Bruce’s own writings.
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Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1
Title: Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1999
Type: Movie
Even big stars need to stand in front of the director and audition for their roles, and some of the best screen tests are from the early years of legends. See some of Hollywood's top names and greatest talents in their very first appearances on celluloid. From Dustin Hoffman's 1966 stock and personality tests to Raquel Welch and James Coburn cavorting for Our Man Flint, from The Three Stooges to Rock Hudson, see stars trying to get on film.
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Title: The RKO Story: Tales From Hollywood
Character: Self
Released: July 3, 1987
Type: TV
Ed Asner tells the story of RKO Pictures from the 1920s to the 1960s.
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Not Just Another Affair
Title: Not Just Another Affair
Character: Julius Thompkins
Released: October 1, 1982
Type: Movie
A lady marine biologist, determined to save herself until marriage, meets a handsome attorney who is not used to being rejected sexually, and it becomes a battle of wills as to who will emerge the winner.
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Title: Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones
Character: Mr. Caldwell
Released: April 15, 1980
Type: TV
The story of the Peoples Temple led by Jim Jones and the 1978 mass suicide at Jonestown.
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American Gigolo
Title: American Gigolo
Character: Michelle's Lawyer
Released: February 8, 1980
Type: Movie
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.
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Crisis in Mid-Air
Title: Crisis in Mid-Air
Character: Chairman
Released: February 13, 1979
Type: Movie
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.
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Evening in Byzantium
Title: Evening in Byzantium
Character: William Bast
Released: August 14, 1978
Type: Movie
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.
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The Amazing Howard Hughes
Title: The Amazing Howard Hughes
Character: Sen. Ferguson
Released: April 13, 1977
Type: Movie
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.
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Title: Eight Is Enough
Released: March 15, 1977
Type: TV
Eight Is Enough is an American television comedy-drama series that ran on ABC from March 15, 1977, until August 29, 1981. The show was modeled after syndicated newspaper columnist Thomas Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who wrote a book with the same name.
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Mission to Glory: A True Story
Title: Mission to Glory: A True Story
Character: Father Argula
Released: January 1, 1977
Type: Movie
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.
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Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case
Title: Guilty or Innocent: The Sam Sheppard Murder Case
Character: Dr. Richard Sheppard, Sr.
Released: November 17, 1975
Type: Movie
The story of Dr. Sam Sheppard, an Ohio doctor convicted of murdering his wife, despite his vehement denials of the crime.
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Dick Tracy - The Plot To Kill NATO
Title: Dick Tracy - The Plot To Kill NATO
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: September 1, 1967
Type: Movie
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.
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Batgirl
Title: Batgirl
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: January 1, 1967
Type: Movie
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?
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Title: The Green Hornet
Character: Narrator
Released: September 9, 1966
Type: TV
The Green Hornet is a television series on the ABC US television network that aired for the 1966–1967 TV season starring Van Williams as the Green Hornet/Britt Reid and Bruce Lee as Kato.
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Batman
Title: Batman
Character: Narrator / Bat-Computer (voice) (uncredited)
Released: July 30, 1966
Type: Movie
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.
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Title: Batman
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: January 12, 1966
Type: TV
Wealthy entrepreneur Bruce Wayne and his ward Dick Grayson lead a double life: they are actually crime fighting duo Batman and Robin. A secret Batpole in the Wayne mansion leads to the Batcave, where Police Commissioner Gordon often calls with the latest emergency threatening Gotham City. Racing to the scene of the crime in the Batmobile, Batman and Robin must (with the help of their trusty Bat-utility-belt) thwart the efforts of a variety of master criminals, including The Riddler, The Joker, Catwoman, and The Penguin.