Talk:Jim Downey (comedian)

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Political affiliation of Jim Downey

The New York Times of March 13, 2008 provides additional information about Jim Downey and politics in an article titled "Pro-Clinton? ‘SNL’ Says You’re Joking" by Bill Carter. In the following quote the term "Both men" refers to Lorne Michaels and Jim Downey.

"Both men said that most members of the cast and writing staff favored Mr. Obama as a presidential candidate, and Mr. Downey said that he would definitely vote for him if he were nominated. (Mr. Downey said he was a registered Democrat.)" Garson (talk) 04:34, 17 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Go for it. - Colfer2 (talk) 05:40, 17 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the feedback Colfer2. Below is a paragraph I plan to add to the article:

Additional information about Downey’s political affiliation is provided in a New York Times article dated March 13, 2008 titled “Pro-Clinton? ‘SNL’ Says You’re Joking”. The article states “Mr. Downey said he was a registered Democrat.” ^[1] The article also stated that Downey indicated a preference for candidate Obama, “Mr. Downey said that he would definitely vote for him if he were nominated.” ^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b Carter, Bill (March 13, 2008). "Pro-Clinton? 'SNL' Says You're Joking". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-19.

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Age

Is there a reason that the exact year of this man’s birth is unknown? 2600:387:F:561B:0:0:0:8 (talk) 04:02, 30 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I'm going to say born 1952. I was his friend and neighbor and my sister was in his class. He appears to value his privacy, can you blame him. He truly is a brilliant guy and a good person. His success doesn't surprise me a bit. He was energetic and ambitious. M.L. 45.40.80.216 (talk) 14:21, 29 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Probably not dead

I'm reverting the recent IP edits that claim this article is about the James Downey that recently died. If you look into it, it really doesn't hold up under any scrutiny. Just looks like another guy with the same name whose credits/factoids have been jumbled with SNL Downey over the years.

For starters, we know for a fact that Downey (of SNL fame) is a Joliet, Illinois native, went to Joliet Catholic Academy, and attended Harvard. If we look at the recent obituary, it says Downey2 grew up in Brooklyn and went to the High School of Music and Art. This clearly doesn't make any sense for SNL Downey. (One of his most famous sketches is about Bears fans, inspired by his Illinois upbringing.)

The age and name isn't right either. The book Poking a Dead Frog gives SNL Downey's real name as James Woodward Downey, NOT James Buchanan Downey. His date of birth is also right around 1952/1953 (just look at the NYT article in the page, and other sources), not 1949. What are the chances, BOTH of those are wrong, or it's a different guy? I would say it's definitely the latter.

My take? IMDb or other sites, out of laziness, fused the two Downeys together even though they're different guys. So, as a result, facts like James Buchanan Downey being Robert Downey Jr.'s uncle were grafted onto SNL Downey over the years, even though it applies to someone totally different. Nohomersryan (talk) 18:36, 17 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Just for posterity: here is a 1998 New York Times article about the recently-deceased Downey. It mentions that he's a copywriter, appeared on Kate and Allie, writes books, is the uncle of Robert Downey Jr., and contains no mention of SNL or similar. Nohomersryan (talk) 20:22, 17 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]

[nytsnl20080313-1] Carter, Bill (March 13, 2008). "Pro-Clinton? 'SNL' Says You're Joking". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-19.

[1]