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Nancy Dowd

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Screenwriter

The Resume

    (January 1, 1945- )
    Born in Framingham, Massachusetts
    Wrote the screenplays for the films ‘Slap Shot’ (1977) and ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains’ (1982)
    Won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for ‘Coming Home’ with Waldo Salt (1978)

Why she might be annoying:

    She has been credited as ‘Rob Morton’ and ‘Ernest Morton’ in several films (or sometimes just goes uncredited completely).
    She ended her friendship with Jane Fonda over disagreements about her ‘Coming Home’ screenplay (they have not spoken for years).
    Their row carried over into 2008 when she wrote to Vanity Fair to publicly complain about their ‘Vietnam Oscars’ article which she claimed was filled with inaccuracies about ‘Coming Home.’
    She wrote: ‘Jane Fonda and Bruce did not create the story... I created and wrote the story. They are such poor liars, they can’t even get their years straight. I tried desperately to get my script away from her. She was too old to play the lead in a Vietnam movie, and as she clung to my screenplay she got older.’
    She took one last shot in closing: ‘Did it occur to [the writer] that the bimbo doing happy kicks on anti-aircraft gun emplacements in North Vietnam as American pilots flew overhead might not be capable of writing/conceiving the definitive statement about the largely undocumented Vietnam War home front at the same time?’ (talk about salty!).

Why she might not be annoying:

    She wrote for a season of Saturday Night Live.
    She won a Writers Guild Award for Best Drama Written for the Screen for ‘Coming Home.’
    She had been an antiwar activist and used her experiences with disabled vets as the basis for her script.
    Jane Fonda attempted to get her name removed from the opening credits of the movie, forcing the Writers’ Guild to get involved and arbitrate (Nancy’s credit was reinstated).
    Jane Fonda deliberately thanked everyone involved with the film but her in her Best Actress acceptance speech the night of the Oscars.
    Her brother Ned inspired the story behind ‘Slap Shot,’ based on his experiences playing minor league hockey.

Credit: BoyWithTheGreenHair


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Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 22 Votes: 54.55% Annoying