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Did "The Dude" ever hold a job or a mention of him having an occupation in his past?

More context - "The Dude" is played by Jeff Bridges in the Big Lebowski - movie credits show his character name as "The Dude"

Danny
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There is a scene in the movie where the Dude tries to remember his most notable accomplishments in life. It can be seen (in poor quality) on YouTube here, and here's a transcript:

MAUDE: Tell me about yourself, Jeffrey.

DUDE: Well, not much to tell. I, um, I was, uh, one of the authors of the Port Huron Statement. Uh, the original Port Huron Statement.

MAUDE: Uh-huh.

DUDE: Not the... compromised second draft. Uh, and then I, uh... [perking up] mm! Ever hear of the Seattle Seven?

MAUDE: Mm.

DUDE: That was me. And, uh, six other guys. Uhh, and then uh... oh, the music business briefly.

MAUDE: [interested] Oh?

DUDE: Yeah. Roadie for Metallica.

MAUDE: [disappointed] Oh.

DUDE: Speed of Sound Tour.

MAUDE: Mm hmm.

DUDE: Bunch of assholes. And then, um, you know, a little of this, a little of that. Uh, my career's... slowed down a little lately.

The Port Huron Statement was a political manifesto of Students for a Democratic Society, and the Seattle Seven were anti-Vietnam-war protesters who were charged with conspiracy to incite a riot. Jeff Dowd, inspiration for the Dude, was one of the Seattle Seven. I doubt the Dude was paid for his involvement in those.

I think the scene is meant to establish that he's never had a paid job for any significant amount of time, since if he had he would have mentioned it.

benrg
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    Roadie is usually a paid job, isn't it? Especially for a famous band like Metallica. – N. Virgo Oct 21 '22 at 09:19
  • @N.Virgo "for any significant amount of time" – Tristan Oct 21 '22 at 10:43
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    @Tristan “I doubt the Dude was paid […] as a roadie,” which is a strange thing to doubt, because they are usually paid—not well, but it’s not a purely volunteer gig. – KRyan Oct 21 '22 at 14:45
  • ah right. My reading comprehension fails again. I agree he likely would have been paid (and it doesn't even change the main point that he'd still not have had any long term paid employment) – Tristan Oct 21 '22 at 14:52
  • @N.Virgo Okay, my ignorance is showing. I deleted that bit. – benrg Oct 21 '22 at 17:33
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    You might be thinking of groupies who are not generally paid (that might legally be considered prostitution), though they might receive gifts. – Darrel Hoffman Oct 21 '22 at 19:04
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    Roadies are definitely paid, the time lines involved are tight. They must be able to pull off an often mammoth task on time, every time. – Lamar Latrell Oct 21 '22 at 23:03
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    @LamarLatrell: Indeed. Like having to pack all the gear of a world tour into a passenger train, under 4 minutes : https://youtu.be/zFC1KOlXweE?t=7663 I highly recommend this documentary, even if you don't like punk rock in general or NOFX in particular. – Eric Duminil Oct 22 '22 at 10:18
  • Roadies are paid, but (I believe) typically more like seasonal work than an office job. Some people do have roadies that work with them for years whether they are touring or not, but I believe that is unusual. More typically it would be for a particular venue or tour (as quoted above). Metallica’s shortest tour was 9 days, their longest about a year. Being a roadie is interesting and has been a path for at least some people to joining a band, but isn’t generally considered an accomplishment (as illustrated by your thinking they were unpaid). – jmoreno Oct 22 '22 at 14:36
  • The question was not whether the Dude had any accomplishments, it's whether he ever had an occupation. If I start a job on Monday and fill out a form somewhere else on Tuesday that asks for my occupation, I can (and would) put the job I just started. Roadie is absolutely an occupation... the question now concerns the reliability of the narrator. I've known people like the Dude before and I learned to take their stories with a grain of salt. – ruffdove Oct 24 '22 at 21:34
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Did you ever hear of "The Seattle Seven"?

Mmm.

That was me... and six other guys

That's about as close as it comes, I think.

Harris Spivack
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    In that same convo he mentions being one of the original drafters of some document. That might imply that he used to have a career in policy or government or research. Proof is nowhere near as solid as "The Seattle Seven." – Tom Oct 20 '22 at 23:27
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    The Seattle Seven were anti-Vietnam-war protesters. Jeff Dowd (inspiration for the Dude) was one of them. I don't think they were paid. The document the Dude mentions drafting is the Port Huron Statement. Then he says he was in the "music business briefly", which turns out to mean being a roadie for Metallica. I think the whole point of this scene is to show that he's never had a paid job, because he would have mentioned it if he had. – benrg Oct 21 '22 at 05:55
  • Didn't he fight in Vietnam? Or was that just Walter? – komodosp Oct 21 '22 at 10:13
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    @benrg that makes a lot more sense than the Seattle Seven – OrangeDog Oct 21 '22 at 12:24
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    @komodosp That was Walter, which makes it all the more unusual that they'd be friends... – Darrel Hoffman Oct 21 '22 at 18:31