The film
Slap Shot (1977), written by his sister,
Nancy Dowd, is based in part on his experiences playing in the minor leagues. Dowd served as technical advisor for the film and appeared in the film as notorious hockey player Ogie Ogelthorpe. His role as technical advisor included training star
Paul Newman on how to play and coach ice hockey. He continued to occasionally act until 1996, but focused his career on becoming an
assistant director and eventually a
line producer. He had small parts in several films, the last being
Bottle Rocket (1996), and has been a producer of such films as
The Last of the Mohicans (1992),
Shanghai Noon (2000),
Wonder Boys (2000), and
Apocalypto (2006). ==Career statistics==