William Dozier

William Dozier (13 February 1908 - 23 April 1991) was an American film and television actor and producer known for producing Pentagon U.S.A. (1953), Back from Eternity (1956), Batman: The Movie (1966), and The Green Hornet (1966-1967).

William Dozier was born as William McElroy Dozier on February 13, 1908, in Omaha, Nebraska. He studied law at Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, graduating in 1929.

Production

William Dozier made his production debut in 1944 with the war drama The Hour Before the Dawn, starring Veronica Lake, Franchot Tone, and John Sutton. Three years later, he produced Slave Girl, directed by Charles Lamont and starring Yvonne De Carlo, George Brent, and Broderick Crawford.

In 1948, with his wife his second wife Joan Fontaine, he founded a film production company named Rampart Productions, under which he produced two films that year: Letter from an Unknown Woman and You Gotta Stay Happy, both starring Fontaine.

In 1950, for Columbia Pictures, he produced a film noir titled Harriet Craig, starring Joan Crawford and directed by Vincent Sherman.

In the early 1950s, he was the executive producer for CBS television's dramatic programs including Walter Cronkite's You Are There, Ben Hecht's Tales of the City, and Rex Marshall's Suspense.

In the years 1953-1954, Dozier produced 58 episodes of the TV series Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers.

In 1964, Dozier founded Greenway Productions and produced the Batman television series (1966–1968), as executive producer and narrator, although he was uncredited for the role as narrator. The series, which ran for three seasons, went on to be a huge success and a cultural sensation in North America and worldwide. Under the same label, he also produced 24 episodes of The Green Hornet television series, which starred Van Williams and Bruce Lee. The Green Hornet also marked Bruce Lee's official acting debut in an American TV or film production; previously he had worked mostly in Hong Kong-based productions. The series introduced Lee as a martial arts fighter and brought Asian martial arts to a broad American audience for the first time.

Dozier also made a screen test of an aborted version of Wonder Woman in 1967. During his time as executive producer of Batman, he co-created the character "Barbara Gordon," who would become a prominent character in the Batman comic books as well as the television series. Also in 1967, he produced a short TV film Dick Tracy starring Ray MacDonnell (as Dick Tracy), Davey Davison, and Jan Shutan.

Dozier practically retired after his 1969 film The Big Bounce that failed to make an impression. Though he reemerged in 2015 to produce a short TV film Batgirl, in which Yvonne Craig played the title role. 

Acting

Dozier performed in many film and television productions such as Medical Center(1971), Police Story (1974), Mission to Glory: A True Story (1977), American Gigolo(1980), and Not Just Another Affair (1982), though most of his roles were supporting characters.

As a voice-actor, his voice can be heard in many of his works including Batman: The Movie, The Green Hornet, Dick Tracy, and Batgirl.

Dozier was married three times. His first marriage was with Katherine Foley from 14 September 1929 until the divorce on 27 April 1946. They had one son, Robert Dozier, who is a well-known screenwriter (Dead Men Tell No Tales). He was then married to actress Joan Fontaine from 2 May 1946 to 25 January 1951, which also ended in divorce. The couple had one daughter, Debbie Dozier, an actress. 

Lastly, Dozier married actress Ann Rutherford on 6 October 1953. They remained married until his death on 23 April 1991. Through his marriage with Rutherford, he happens to be the brother-in-law of actress Judith Arlen.

Dozier died from a stroke on April 23, 1991, aged 83, in Santa Monica, California. Dozier is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.