Name: Discussion with Jim Downey, former SNL head writer and producer
Start: 2026-03-11T18:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-03-11T20:00:00-05:00
Location: Harry Ransom Center

Discussion with Jim Downey, former SNL head writer and producer

Join Jim Downey, comedy writer, actor, and former writer and producer for Saturday Night Live for a special conversation about his career.
About this Event

Jim Downey, writer, actor, and producer on Saturday Night Live (1976-1995), discusses his career in comedy writing. The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Cindy McCreery, Professor and Chair for the Department of Radio-Television-Film at The University of Texas at Austin. A reception, made possible by Central Market, will follow the program

James Woodward Downey is a multiple Emmy-winning television writer and performer, and occasional film actor. He joined the writing staff of Saturday Night Live in 1976 (sharing an office with Bill Murray), and continued with the show until 2013. From 1982 through 1983, he was the Head Writer for Late Night with David Letterman (1982). His film roles include There Will Be Blood (2007), One Battle After Another (2025), Billy Madison (1995), and Dirty Work (1998). On television, he has appeared in 30 Rock (2006), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000), Veep (2012), and The Chair Company (2025), along with dozens of appearances on SNL and "Late Night with David Letterman." He is a 1974 graduate of Harvard University, where he was President of the Harvard Lampoon.

Cindy McCreery was a Walt Disney/ABC Feature Writing Fellow and has since sold feature projects to New Line Cinema, Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, National Geographic Films, Warner Brothers, MGM, Branded Entertainment, and Lionsgate. She also writes for television and has sold projects to SyFy Channel, Disney Channel, NBC, TNT, Televisa USA, Universal Television, and AMC’s Shudder. McCreery has been teaching screenwriting and television writing since 2004 at UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, and is currently the Chair for the Department of Radio-Television-Film at The University of Texas at Austin.

Please have your reservation confirmation ready upon entering. A reservation does not guarantee a seat. Line forms upon arrival of the first patron, and doors open 30 minutes before the event begins. No food or beverages are allowed inside our theater or gallery space.