Morton Downey Jr.

fuzzygobo

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Wow, was it 25 years already? In 1987, the talk show universe centered around Oprah, Sally Jesse Raphael and Phil Donahue, asking sensitive questions to sensitive issues. Then Trash TV had a new Crown Prince named Morton Downey, Jr. His show was originally billed as being educational, informative and enlightening, but was ANYTHING but.

Porn stars, televangelists, heavy metal groups, White Supremacists, leaders from the Black, Hispanic, and Gay communties, were all grist for Mort's mill. Instead of tackling a subject in a professional manner, the shows quickly degenerated into shouting matches and occassional fistfights, and the studio audience ate it up. No matter what the topic, whoever was onstage became the target for Mort's- and the audience's wrath, which formed a lynch mob mentality, looking for the highest tree to hang the guy from.
The show was taped at the WOR studios in Secaucus, New Jersey, a stone's throw from my alma mater Montclair State University. The show was tailor-made for my demographic, 18-24 college males. And if you had a ticket to a taping, you were DA BOMB! I couldn't understand all the fuss, but this is what passed for "Must-see tv" in those days.

On April 21, 1988 (my 20th birthday!) Mort taped a show from our college gym. The place was packed, and hundreds more were turned away because you couldn't get in. The topic was The Pros and Cons of Underage Drinking. (There are PROS to underage drinking??!!!)I spent the day at the library instead.

As quickly as Mort's star rose, he came crashing back to earth. That summer he claimed he was attacked byWhite Supremacists (during the course of his show he was constantly receiving death threats), which turned out to be an elaborate hoax. His show was cancelled, and after a few more futile attempts to regain the spotlight, Mort passed away in 2001 from lung cancer. He was responsible (or to blame) for paving the way for the likes of Jerry Springer and his ilk.

For you who weren't there at the time, at least there are clips on youtube so you can see what all the fuss was about. Remember, we lived in ancient times back then. This was considered by some to be Hot Stuff. You be the judge.
 

newsmanfan

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And like today's similar trash, it was about 85% staged. Anything for a rating.

I had a friend who thought Mort was funny...not himself, but for the sheer stupidity of the show, as a sort of absurdist commentary on how low society had sunk that this drek passed for entertainment. Even as black comedy I couldn't stomach it. Same goes for the abject nonsense on these days...with the very sad adjustment that most of the participants on reality shows and "problem-solving" talk shows like Dr Feel actually take themselves seriously...
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