John Frederick Bowman (September 28, 1957 – December 28, 2021) was an American television writer and producer best known for co-creating the Fox sitcom Martin. He wrote for Saturday Night Live, The Show, and In Living Color. He also worked as the showrunner of Murphy Brown.[1] [2] Bowman won a Primetime Emmy Award for Saturday Night Live in 1989. He was nominated for two more, for In Living Color, in 1991 and 1992.[3]
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]