Jean Doumanian (born Jean Karabas) is an American producer, known for her short reign as producer of Saturday Night Live between November 1980 and March 1981.
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Early life [edit]
Doumanian was born to Greek immigrant restaurant owners, who raised her in Chicago with Greek Orthodox beliefs.[1][2] She received her last name from her ex-husband, Armenian-American John Doumanian.[3]
Career [edit]
Saturday Night Live [edit]
Show creator Lorne Michaels resigned as producer of SNL at the end of its fifth season and the entire cast and writing staff followed. 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 remained. She was offered Michaels' job running SNL and took over the show for the 1980 season, hiring a completely new cast and new writers.
Producer [edit]
After leaving SNL, she was a producer for several of Woody Allen's films:
- Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
- Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
- Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
- Deconstructing Harry (1997)
- Celebrity (1998)
- Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
- Small Time Crooks (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, 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.[4] 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 profits off of the movies.[5] The lawsuit was settled in 2002 for an undisclosed amount[6][7]
Her other films include The Spanish Prisoner, All the Real Girls, Neal Cassady and August: Osage County, as well as The Ox, which was nominated for an Academy Award (Best Foreign Language Film) in 1992.
In 2002, Doumanian was a producer for a Broadway 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.[citation needed]
References [edit]
- ^ "FILM: THE PRODUCER; Woody Allen's Best (Hence Very Secretive) Friend". The New York Times. November 9, 1997.
- ^ Wadler, Joyce (September 20, 2002). "PUBLIC LIVES; Woody Allen's Ex-Best Friend on the Record, Sort Of". The New York Times.
- ^ "Music as Written". The Billboard. June 1, 1959. Page 21. Archived at Google Books. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
- ^ Patterson, John (2001-07-06). "A fall-out with his financier could mean the end for Woody Allen's movies". The Guardian (London).
- ^ Weinraub, Bernard (June 11, 2001). "A Friendship Founders Over Suit by Woody Allen". The New York Times.
- ^ Saulny, Susan (June 12, 2002). "Woody Allen Settles Suit Against Longtime Producer". The New York Times.
- ^ Wadler, Joyce (September 20, 2002). "PUBLIC LIVES; Woody Allen's Ex-Best Friend on the Record, Sort Of". The New York Times.
External links [edit]
![August Osage County - Official Trailer #1 (2013) [HD]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/PT_V8o8YaZM/default.jpg)
![Fictional TV pitchman mocks Romney [NBC 10-31-2012]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/oT5Kq25eIcU/default.jpg)
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