“I was taken aback, Batman was simply not my ken. I have always been associated with loftier projects.”
On a cross-country flight from New York to Los Angeles in early 1966, a man sitting in first class drew more than a few curious looks from his fellow passengers.
The reason for the smirks and sideways glances was that this well-dressed, well-groomed, seemingly successful man spent the flight reading through a stack of comic books.
Little did anyone know that he was actually doing research for ABC.
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| The six comics that Dozier read on that flight |
William Dozier was born in Omaha, Nebraska on February 13, 1908.
After graduation from Creighton University, Dozier moved to New York
focused on becoming a talent agent.
It wasn’t long, however, before
Hollywood’s siren song began calling him away from New York. His keen
business sense, his ability to find good talent and his natural
negotiating skills drew attention and respect from studio executives.
In a few years, Dozier was appointed the head of Paramount’s story and writing department where he oversaw such notable legends as Billy Wilder and Preston Sturges.
By 1950, Dozier’s resume included RKO, Columbia and MGM. From 1951 to 1959, Dozier was known as CBS’ chief of West Coast programming for television. It was at this time that Dozier began to enjoy another title, that of executive producer.
While his career was on an ever-constant upward climb, his personal life was not as easily traversed. His first marriage in 1929 ended in divorce. From 1946 to 1951, Dozier’s second marriage was to actress Joan Fontaine, whom had received the 1941 Best Actress Oscar for Suspicion, a union which made Olivia de Havilland his sister-in-law. His third and final marriage in 1953 was to former Gone With The Wind actress Ann Rutherford.
Dozier left CBS in the early 1960’s to form his own production company, Greenway Productions, setting up shop at Twentieth Century Fox. His first series, The Loner, a western penned by Rod Serling, began with high hopes, but failed to wow television viewers and it was quickly canceled. Following this, Dozier received a call from ABC vice president of program developing, Doug Kramer, to fly out to New York for a meeting.
ABC had recently acquired the television rights to Batman and Kramer wanted to know if Dozier was interested in producing. Dozier had never read a Batman comic book in his life, but, as a businessman, he was open to the idea and spent the entire flight back to LA reading a stack of Batman comic books.
Back in Los Angeles, Dozier called Kramer and said that Greenway would produce the show, under one condition: That the show be a unique mixture of camp for the adults and adventure for the kids. This formula went on to create one of the biggest television sensations since Disney’s Davy Crockett.
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| “I appreciate this opportunity, Mr. Dozier, but maybe we could, ya know, get better costumes. I mean, these feel like robes.” “Great idea, Adam!” |
From 1966 to 1968, the Batman craze boosted both ABC ratings and the sales of comic books.
In its first year alone, it resulted in a revenue close to $75,000,000 for sale of Batman merchandise.
As producer and uncredited narrator of Batman, Dozier had not only become television’s king of camp, but he was responsible for adding the phrase, “Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!” to the American lexicon. Riding his success, he quickly spearheaded another series, The Green Hornet, starring Van Williams and a then unknown Asian actor named Bruce Lee. The show failed to be a hit and it wasn’t long before television’s honeymoon with camp had run its course. This was at the time when Dozier was filming another television show pilot for a series based on Dick Tracy.
After decades of focusing on work, Dozier went into semi-retirement, spending more time at home with wife Ann. Never able to stay clear of the business, though, Dozier was always willing to take on the occasional acting job, everything from Eight Is Enough to American Gigilo (which, based on Dozier’s constant marriages, seemed an appropriate choice.)
William Dozier, the producer with the Droopy Dog face, died in 1991 in Santa Monica, CA.
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| A sexier version of Mitch McConnell |
Working behind-the-scenes offers very little of the glitz and on-street recognition that actors receive.
Rod Serling became most known for being an on-screen narrator than being a producer and talented writer, Lorne Michaels inserted himself into sketches and helped make him, “that SNL producer guy.”
Dozier may be forever known (or unknown) as the narrator for the tales of a somewhat effeminate and paunchy Batman, but he was one of the great producers and helped turn the fledgling medium of television into a worldwide staple.
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