On Friday night, comedy writer John Bowman died suddenly in his home at the age of 64. The cause of death wasn’t initially disclosed.
If you aren’t familiar with his name, you definitely know some of his works. Bowman is perhaps best known for co-creating the 90’s sitcom Martin. He also was a writer on Saturday Night Live from 1988 to 1989, for which he won an Emmy award. Other writing credits include In Living Color, It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Murphy Brown, The Hughleys, Men Behaving Badly, Cedric the Entertainer Presents, and FrankTV. He also popped up occasionally as an actor on Seinfeld, Columbo, Ellen, Miami Vice, and L.A. Law.
Bowman also notably was the chairman for the negotiating committee for the WGA during the 2007-2008 strike that left all of Film and television productions on hiatus. According to Deadline, Bowman “helped gain a settlement that for the first time shared producers’ internet streaming revenue with film and television writers.”
“John Bowman’s strong and thoughtful leadership of the 2007 WGA Negotiating Committee made him a vocal champion for the membership throughout the talks and the strike that we eventually won,” said current WGAW President Meredith Stiehm. “He remained committed to serving the membership as a Board member, Funds trustee and 2011 Negotiating Committee co-chair. The Guild is stronger today because of John’s dedication and devotion to his fellow writers.”
Bowman’s contribution to the industry both on and off the screen is definitely of note and he will be missed.
