Jean Doumanian
Encyclopedia
Jean Doumanian is an American producer
.
Doumanian is probably most well known for her short reign as producer of Saturday Night Live
between November 1980 and March 1981. Her style and critiques angered many of the SNL staff, which soon led to the return of producer Dick Ebersol
, and later Lorne Michaels
.
resigned as producer of SNL at the end of its fifth season and the entire cast and writing staff followed. Michaels later claimed that leaving SNL at the end of the fifth season would be the biggest error of his life. Doumanian, who had been an associate producer during the first five seasons of the show and produced a special for Michaels in 1978, was one of the few who stayed around. She was offered Michaels' job running SNL and took over the show for the 1980 season
, hiring a completely new cast and new writers (many people refused to go near the show because of loyalty to Michaels). The show was plagued by problems from the start.
The first episode, renamed Saturday Night Live '80, appeared on November 15, 1980. Charles Rocket
was groomed by Doumanian to be the show's biggest star, while Eddie Murphy
, who would become the most successful member of that season's cast, received little air time. The new season was quickly panned by the critics.
Doumanian nearly lost her job in a battle with NBC
executives over a sketch she wanted to insert into the December 6, 1980 episode. The sketch, named "The Virgin Search", portrayed NBC executives looking for a woman who's never had sexual intercourse to be SNLs newest castmember. The main objection to the sketch was the sequence where the NBC executives visit a convent and meet a nun (played by Gail Matthius
) who'd had sex with Father Guido Sarducci
(Don Novello
). NBC executives threatened to ban this episode and air an episode from Lorne Michaels
' tenure as executive producer if Doumanian didn't back down. The controversial sketch eventually aired two weeks later, on December 20.
On the February 21 episode, Rocket said "fuck
" on air at the close of an episode. In addition to firing Rocket, NBC soon fired Doumanian, replacing her with Dick Ebersol
.
. He is said to have called the SNL studios regularly during her brief tenure there, and cast member Ann Risley
had had a bit role in Stardust Memories
. She taught him how to dance in the 1960s, defended him through various scandals, and he saved her life in 1992 when she choked on a piece of bread.
After leaving SNL, she was an executive producer for several of his films:
She was also a producer for the 1994 made-for-television film Don't Drink the Water and the 1997 documentary Wild Man Blues
, a film about a tour by Allen's jazz band.
During production of The Curse of the Jade Scorpion
in 2000, Doumanian shocked Allen with an announcement that he had but 48 hours to find alternative funding for the film. In May 2001, on the advice of his financiers, Allen filed a lawsuit against Doumanian and her partner Jacqui Safra, claiming their production company had skimmed $12 million of profits off of the movies. She countersued, claiming he had cheated them out of $19 million. The two sides settled in 2002, but the friendship was shattered.
revival
of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
, which was nominated for a Tony Award
. In 2004, Doumanian was a producer of the Broadway premiere of the play Democracy
by Michael Frayn
.
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
.
Doumanian is probably most well known for her short reign as producer of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
between November 1980 and March 1981. Her style and critiques angered many of the SNL staff, which soon led to the return of producer Dick Ebersol
Dick Ebersol
Duncan "Dick" Ebersol is an American television executive and a senior adviser for . He had previously been the chairman of NBC Sports, producing large scale television events such as the Olympic Games and National Football League broadcasts....
, and later Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels, CM is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and comedian best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.-Early life:...
.
Saturday Night Live
Show creator Lorne MichaelsLorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels, CM is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and comedian best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.-Early life:...
resigned as producer of SNL at the end of its fifth season and the entire cast and writing staff followed. Michaels later claimed that leaving SNL at the end of the fifth season would be the biggest error of his life. Doumanian, who had been an associate producer during the first five seasons of the show and produced a special for Michaels in 1978, was one of the few who stayed around. She was offered Michaels' job running SNL and took over the show for the 1980 season
1980 in television
The year 1980 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1980.For the American TV schedule, see: 1980-81 American network television schedule.-Events:...
, hiring a completely new cast and new writers (many people refused to go near the show because of loyalty to Michaels). The show was plagued by problems from the start.
The first episode, renamed Saturday Night Live '80, appeared on November 15, 1980. Charles Rocket
Charles Rocket
Charles Rocket was an American film and television actor, notable for his tenure as a cast member on Saturday Night Live as well as for his appearances as the villain Nicholas Andre in the film Dumb and Dumber; as Dave Dennison, the father in Disney's Hocus Pocus.-Early life and career:Rocket was...
was groomed by Doumanian to be the show's biggest star, while Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
, who would become the most successful member of that season's cast, received little air time. The new season was quickly panned by the critics.
Doumanian nearly lost her job in a battle with NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
executives over a sketch she wanted to insert into the December 6, 1980 episode. The sketch, named "The Virgin Search", portrayed NBC executives looking for a woman who's never had sexual intercourse to be SNLs newest castmember. The main objection to the sketch was the sequence where the NBC executives visit a convent and meet a nun (played by Gail Matthius
Gail Matthius
Gail Matthius is an American actress and voice actress. She was a cast member of NBC's Saturday Night Live during its critical and ratings low point at the time , and co-anchored the Weekend Update segment with Charles Rocket in 1981.-Recurring characters:*Vicki, a Valley girl who,...
) who'd had sex with Father Guido Sarducci
Father Guido Sarducci
Father Guido Sarducci is a fictional character made famous by American comedian Don Novello. Sarducci, a chain-smoking priest with tinted eyeglasses, works in the United States as gossip columnist and rock critic for the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano .-Background:Novello...
(Don Novello
Don Novello
Don Novello is an American writer, film director, producer, actor, singer, and comedian. Novello is best known for his work on NBC's Saturday Night Live, from 1977 until 1980, and then 1985 until 1986, often as the character "Father Guido Sarducci". Novello has appeared as "Sarducci" on many...
). NBC executives threatened to ban this episode and air an episode from Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels, CM is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and comedian best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.-Early life:...
' tenure as executive producer if Doumanian didn't back down. The controversial sketch eventually aired two weeks later, on December 20.
On the February 21 episode, Rocket said "fuck
Fuck
"Fuck" is an English word that is generally considered obscene which, in its most literal meaning, refers to the act of sexual intercourse. By extension it may be used to negatively characterize anything that can be dismissed, disdained, defiled, or destroyed."Fuck" can be used as a verb, adverb,...
" on air at the close of an episode. In addition to firing Rocket, NBC soon fired Doumanian, replacing her with Dick Ebersol
Dick Ebersol
Duncan "Dick" Ebersol is an American television executive and a senior adviser for . He had previously been the chairman of NBC Sports, producing large scale television events such as the Olympic Games and National Football League broadcasts....
.
Woody Allen
Doumanian had a nearly 40-year friendship and professional relationship with Woody AllenWoody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
. He is said to have called the SNL studios regularly during her brief tenure there, and cast member Ann Risley
Ann Risley
Anna "Ann" Risley was a cast member of the TV series Saturday Night Live for the 12 episodes of the 1980–1981 season. These 12 broadcasts were the first episodes after producer Lorne Michaels left the show...
had had a bit role in Stardust Memories
Stardust Memories
Stardust Memories is a 1980 film written and directed by Woody Allen, who considers this to be one of his best films in addition to The Purple Rose of Cairo and Match Point. The film is shot in black-and-white, particularly reminiscent of Federico Fellini's 8½ , which it parodies...
. She taught him how to dance in the 1960s, defended him through various scandals, and he saved her life in 1992 when she choked on a piece of bread.
After leaving SNL, she was an executive producer for several of his films:
- Bullets Over BroadwayBullets Over BroadwayBullets Over Broadway is a 1994 crime-comedy film written by Woody Allen and Douglas McGrath and directed by Woody Allen. It stars an ensemble cast including John Cusack, Dianne Wiest, Chazz Palminteri, and Jennifer Tilly....
(1994) - Mighty AphroditeMighty AphroditeMighty Aphrodite is a 1995 romantic comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. The screenplay was inspired by the mythological tale of Pygmalion....
(1995) - Everyone Says I Love YouEveryone Says I Love YouEveryone Says I Love You is a 1996 American musical film that was written and directed by Woody Allen. The film features many stars, including Julia Roberts, Alan Alda, Edward Norton, Drew Barrymore, Gaby Hoffmann, Tim Roth, Goldie Hawn, and Natalie Portman.Set in New York, Venice, and Paris, the...
(1996) - Deconstructing HarryDeconstructing HarryDeconstructing Harry is a black comedy film by Woody Allen released in 1997. This film tells the story of a successful writer called Harry Block, played by Allen himself, who draws inspiration from people he knows in real-life, and from events that happened to him, sometimes causing these people to...
(1997) - CelebrityCelebrity (film)Celebrity is a 1998 comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. The screenplay focuses on the divergent paths a couple takes following their divorce.-Plot:...
(1998) - Sweet and LowdownSweet and LowdownSweet and Lowdown is a 1999 American comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen which tells the story of a fictional arrogant, obnoxious, alcoholic jazz guitarist named Emmet Ray who regards himself as perhaps the best guitarist in the world, or second best, after his idol, Django Reinhardt...
(1999) - Small Time CrooksSmall Time CrooksSmall Time Crooks is a 2000 American crime-comedy film directed, written, and starring Woody Allen, along with Tracey Ullman and Hugh Grant.-Plot:...
(2000)
She was also a producer for the 1994 made-for-television film Don't Drink the Water and the 1997 documentary Wild Man Blues
Wild Man Blues
Wild Man Blues is a 1998 documentary film directed by Barbara Kopple, about the musical avocation of actor/director/comic Woody Allen. The film takes its name from a jazz composition sometimes attributed to Jelly Roll Morton and sometimes to Louis Armstrong and recorded by both...
, a film about a tour by Allen's jazz band.
During production of The Curse of the Jade Scorpion
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion is a 2001 American film written, directed by, and starring Woody Allen. The cast also features Dan Aykroyd, Elizabeth Berkley, Helen Hunt, John Schuck, Wallace Shawn, David Ogden Stiers, and Charlize Theron. The plot concerns an insurance investigator and an...
in 2000, Doumanian shocked Allen with an announcement that he had but 48 hours to find alternative funding for the film. In May 2001, on the advice of his financiers, Allen filed a lawsuit against Doumanian and her partner Jacqui Safra, claiming their production company had skimmed $12 million of profits off of the movies. She countersued, claiming he had cheated them out of $19 million. The two sides settled in 2002, but the friendship was shattered.
Broadway
In 2002, Doumanian was a producer for a BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
revival
Revival (play)
A revival is a restaging of a stage production after its original run has closed. New material may be added. A filmed version is said to be an adaptation and requires writing of a screenplay....
of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune is a two-character play by Terrence McNally.It focuses on two lonely, middle-aged people whose first date ends with them tumbling into bed. Johnny is certain he has found his soul mate in Frankie. She, on the other hand, is far more cautious and disinclined...
, which was nominated for a Tony Award
Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play
The Tony Award for Best Revival has only been awarded since 1994. Prior to that, plays and musicals were considered together for the Tony Award for Best Revival...
. In 2004, Doumanian was a producer of the Broadway premiere of the play Democracy
Democracy (play)
Democracy is a play by Michael Frayn which premiered at the Royal National Theatre on September 9, 2003, directed by Michael Blakemore, starring Roger Allam as Willy Brandt and Conleth Hill as Günter Guillaume...
by Michael Frayn
Michael Frayn
Michael J. Frayn is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce Noises Off and the dramas Copenhagen and Democracy...
.