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Jean DoumanianJean Doumanian (born c.1934 as Jean Karabas) is a producer. She is most widely known for a brief stint as the executive producer of Saturday Night Live (SNL) and later, as a producer for several Woody Allen films. Saturday Night Live 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 was an associate producer for 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 before a November episode went on. NBC executives were battling Doumanian's insistence to include a sketch portraying a nun who was not a virgin. Before Doumanian backed down, Network head Fred Silverman told the Standards department to repeat one of Lorne Michaels' shows, if necessary. On the February 21 episode, cast member Charles Rocket used an expletive at the close of an episode. NBC, which had had enough, soon fired Doumanian, replacing her with Dick Ebersol. The period is now widely regarded as being the worst in the show's history. Woody Allen Doumanian had a nearly 40-year friendship and professional relationship with Woody Allen. 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 was choking on a piece of bread. After leaving SNL, she was an executive producer for several of his films: She was also a producer for a 1994 made-for-television film Don't Drink the Water and the 1997 documentary Wild Man Blues, a film about a tour undertook by Allen's jazz band. In May 2001 many were stunned when he filed a lawsuit against Doumanian and 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 beyond repair. Broadway 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. External link Doumanian, Jean Doumanian, Jean
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