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William Dozier

Producer

William Dozier

Born February 13, 1908 in Omaha, Nebraska, USADied April 23, 199112 films

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.

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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.

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The best way into William Dozier's work
Letter from an Unknown Woman posterFirst watchLetter from an Unknown Woman19487.8A 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.View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach
Batman poster6.4Batman1966

Filmography

12 films
  1. 1969The Big BounceProducer
  2. 1967Dick Tracy - The Plot To Kill NATOExecutive Producer
  3. 1967BatgirlExecutive Producer
  4. 1966BatmanProducer
  5. 1958Stage StruckExecutive Producer
  6. 1956Back from EternityExecutive Producer
  7. 1953Death Is My NeighborExecutive Producer
  8. 1951Two of a KindProducer
  9. 1950Harriet CraigProducer
  10. 1948You Gotta Stay HappyExecutive Producer
  11. 1948Letter from an Unknown WomanExecutive Producer
  12. 1947Slave GirlProducer