Jeff Dowd

Jeff Dowd (born November 20, 1949) is an American film producer and political activist.

Jeff Dowd
Dowd in 2009
Born	(1949-11-20) November 20, 1949 (age 75) United States
Occupation	Film producer

Biography

He was a member of the "Seattle Seven",^[1] who were jailed for contempt of court following a violent protest against the Vietnam War. He later moved to Los Angeles and became an independent movie producer and promoter, producing such films as Zebrahead.^[2] He met the Coen brothers while they were promoting their first film, Blood Simple, and was a key (though not the only) inspiration for their character Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski from The Big Lebowski.^[3]

In 2009, Dowd was involved in an altercation with movie critic John Anderson at the Sundance Film Festival, after Anderson panned Dirt! The Movie (Dowd was the film's sales agent).^[4] Anderson was eating breakfast when Dowd reportedly confronted him, and then incited a food fight and brief melee at the Yarrow Hotel Restaurant. Dowd did not press charges.^[5]

In 2011, Dowd was the subject of an 18-minute documentary-short directed by Jeff Feuerzeig and broadcast on the USA Network as part of its "Character" series.^[6]

Filmography

• FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992) (co-executive producer)
• Zebrahead (1992) (producer)
• Cement (1999) (co-executive producer)
• The Last Game (2002) (TV) (executive producer)
• Ocean of Pearls (2008) (executive producer)