Jeff “The Dude” Dowd is an American film producer and political activist. He was a member of the "Seattle Seven," who were jailed for contempt of court following a violent protest against the Vietnam War.
He later moved to Los Angeles and became an independent movie producer and promoter, producing such films as Zebrahead. He met the Coen brothers while they were promoting their first film, Blood Simple. He was subsequently a key inspiration for their character Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski from the acclaimed movie The Big Lebowski.
In 2011, Dowd was the subject of an 18-minute documentary short directed by Jeff Feuerzeig, which was broadcast on the USA Network as part of its "Character" series.