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William McElroy Dozier was an American film and television producer, writer, and actor. Dozier is best known for his work on two television series, Batman, and The Green Hornet. William was born in Nebraska in 1908, and graduated from Creighton University in 1929, where he had studied law. His television career began as a television writer, before moving to production and occasionally acting. He and his second wife, actress Joan Fontaine, co-founded Rampart Productions, which was responsible for the Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) and Harriet Craig (1950). In the early 1950s, Dozier was also an executive producer for CBS-TV, working on programs like You are There, Ben Hecht’s Tales of the City, and Suspense. In 1959, he left CBS behind and moved briefly to Screen Gems as vice-president in charge of production.

In 1964, William Dozier founded a new company, Greenway Productions, and then took on the development of the Batman television series that ran from 1966-1968. He was both executive producer and narrator. He performed the same functions for The Green Hornet television show. Dozier also appeared in the Batman series as more than the uncredited narrator, he appeared on screen in the first and last episodes of the series- “Hi Diddle Riddle,” and “Minerva, Mayhem and Millionaires.” Additionally, during his time with the series, William co-created the character of Barbara Gordon, who would become a prominent character in both the television series and the DC Batman comic books the show was based on.

In 1967, Dozier made a screen test for the later abandoned Wonder Woman and produced and unsold Dick Tracy. In 1979, he appeared in The Paper Chase television series for one episode. William Dozier passed away at 83 (1991), in California, leaving behind his third wife, Ann Rutherford, as well as a son and a daughter.