John Bowman (screenwriter)

John Frederick Bowman (September 28, 1957 – December 28, 2021) was an American television writer and producer best known for co-creating the

Primetime Emmy Award for Saturday Night Live in 1989. He was nominated for two more, for In Living Color, in 1991 and 1992.^[3]

Early life and career

Bowman was born on September 28, 1957, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He attended Whitefish Bay High School.^[4] While attending Harvard College, he was an editor of The Harvard Lampoon. After graduating from Harvard Business School in 1985, he worked as a junior executive at PepsiCo.^[1]^[4] In 1988, he and his wife, Shannon Gaughan, were hired as staff writers on Saturday Night Live.^[2]

Bowman served as head of the Writers Guild of America negotiating committee during the 2007–08 writers' strike. He later taught comedy writing at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.^[2]

Bowman married Shannon Gaughan in 1982. They met while working on The Harvard Lampoon. They had five children.^[5]

He died from dilated cardiomyopathy on December 28, 2021, at his home in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 64.^[1]

^ ^a ^b ^c Sandomir, Richard (January 14, 2022). "John Bowman, Comedy Writer With a Knack for Crossing Over, Dies at 64". The New York Times. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c Yuma, Jennifer (December 31, 2021). "John Bowman, Comedy Writer and Key WGA Leader During 2007-08 Strike, Dies at 64". Variety. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
^ "John Bowman". Television Academy. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
^ ^a ^b Barnes, Mike (December 31, 2021). "John Bowman, 'Martin' Co-Creator and 'In Living Color' Head Writer, Dies at 64". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
^ Brady, Erik (January 3, 2022). "Erik Brady: Nothing mattered more to John Bowman than family. And for him, Buffalo was family". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on January 3, 2022. Retrieved October 5, 2022.