Jeff Dowd (born November 20, 1949) is an American film producer and political activist best known as a member of the "Seattle Seven,"[1] who went to jail (briefly, for contempt of court) following a violent protest against the Vietnam war.
He later moved to Los Angeles, California and became an independent movie producer and promoter.
He met the Coen Brothers while they were promoting their first film, Blood Simple. He is the basis for one of their most popular characters, Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski from The Big Lebowski.[2]
Radio host and comedian Phil Hendrie voices a character, Jeff Dowder, who is very similar to Jeff Dowd's inspired character "The Dude".