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Evocateur - Morton Downey Jr. Documentary (1 Viewer)

My favorite show was the one where he got in the face of the (kinda chubby) guy going up against the tobacco companies, yelling "I've smoked for 50 years and look better than you!"

Downey died about 10 years later of lung cancer.

 
cstu said:
My favorite show was the one where he got in the face of the (kinda chubby) guy going up against the tobacco companies, yelling "I've smoked for 50 years and look better than you!"

Downey died about 10 years later of lung cancer.
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Not sure if that specific clip appears but it goes the whole way with Downey's story.

-QG

 
Saw the thread title and realized I'd totally forgotten about this guy, though he was such a sensation for a while. Also forgot he had passed away.

Obviously I need to watch the doc. ;)

Sounds fascinating. Thanks for posting.

 
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Was just talking about this guy.... I might have written a freshman college paper about Socrates that included him.

 
I had his music cassette! I never saw this before but have the DVR set. Everyone else in the house better go to bed early or Zip It!

 
El Floppo said:
QuizGuy66 said:
El Floppo said:
Was just talking about this guy.... I might have written a freshman college paper about Socrates that included him.
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This would be gold man. You gotta find that paper and post it :thumbup:

-QG
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IIRC, I had Socrates as a guest on the show, with the crowd inexplicably coming around to the Socratic method by the end of the show. The paper was terrible.
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You've made this paper sound even better now.

-QG

 
I distinctly remember this pabulum puking show.

DVR set.

Along these lines, Best Of Enemies, a documentary about William F. Buckley and Gore Vidal's coverage of the '68 Democratic Convention and how it changed the televised news is out, and it looks good. Hope to catch it this weekend.

 
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Quite the trip down memory lane. I remember a lot of the shows they showed clips from. I didn't realize the show lasted less than 2 years, it seems like it was on for a lot longer. Like they said in the documentary - quick rise, quick fall.

 
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Wingnut said:
Quite the trip down memory lane. I remember a lot of the shows they showed clips from. I didn't realize the show lasted less than 2 years, it seems like it was on for a lot longer. Like they said in the documentary - quick rise, quick fall.
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There's some full eps on youtube - quite a few in fact. The one ahead of the 1988 election was pretty funny.

I never went but there were many kids from my high school who did.

The thing that makes the show amazing is the caliber of the guests he got on there. And how he was able to get some of them to lose their composure in a format where they suddenly how no control (Ron Paul, Lyndon Larouche for example). In that 1988 election episode he had a guy who was (or had) actually worked in the Reagan administration. Crazy stuff.

You may be thought the run was longer b/c of the Richard Bey show, which also aired on channel 9 and had a similar audience (though not a similar style). That one went from '87-'96.

-QG

 
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Wingnut said:
Quite the trip down memory lane. I remember a lot of the shows they showed clips from. I didn't realize the show lasted less than 2 years, it seems like it was on for a lot longer. Like they said in the documentary - quick rise, quick fall.
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That's it? He was definitely a huge star back then but I guess people could only handle so much.

 
Side note, I think we all could agree, Em included, that Em would have gone to every single Morton Downey Jr show if he were around back then.

-QG

 
cstu said:
Wingnut said:
Quite the trip down memory lane. I remember a lot of the shows they showed clips from. I didn't realize the show lasted less than 2 years, it seems like it was on for a lot longer. Like they said in the documentary - quick rise, quick fall.
Click to expand...
That's it? He was definitely a huge star back then but I guess people could only handle so much.
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It's tough to keep that kind of frenetic pace that he had on that show. Mort's own demons didn't seem to help matters.

I think he was guy who kinda had to become the character to play it.

-QG

 
Recorded this but haven't watched yet. Had the same faulty memory as others here - would have sworn he was on for five years or so rather than 18 months. Such was the effect of his overwhelming style, perhaps.

 
QuizGuy66 said:
Wingnut said:
Quite the trip down memory lane. I remember a lot of the shows they showed clips from. I didn't realize the show lasted less than 2 years, it seems like it was on for a lot longer. Like they said in the documentary - quick rise, quick fall.
Click to expand...
There's some full eps on youtube - quite a few in fact. The one ahead of the 1988 election was pretty funny.

I never went but there were many kids from my high school who did.

The thing that makes the show amazing is the caliber of the guests he got on there. And how he was able to get some of them to lose their composure in a format where they suddenly how no control (Ron Paul, Lyndon Larouche for example). In that 1988 election episode he had a guy who was (or had) actually worked in the Reagan administration. Crazy stuff.

You may be thought the run was longer b/c of the Richard Bey show, which also aired on channel 9 and had a similar audience (though not a similar style). That one went from '87-'96.

-QG
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I didn't even recognize Bey until the 2nd or 3rd time they showed him. I'm surprised they didn't show any clips from his show like they did Phil and Sally. I remember watching his show too..for some reason, I thought he was Australian or something...in my memories of his show he had an accent of some sort.

:shrug:

 
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It amazes me that no one ever just knocked him out when he got in their face and blew smoke. Or was it a classic he only did that to little dudes who he knew would back down?

 
Just got a chance to watch this. I think the format, his bullying on the show as a form of entertainment, and his personal backstory combined with his demise and neediness actually made this quite sad in a way. At least, I didn't come away from watching it with any sort of hope for our collective future or sanguinity about the nature of man and showbiz.

 
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rockaction said:
Just got a chance to watch this. I think the format, his bullying on the show as a form of entertainment, and his personal backstory combined with his demise and neediness actually made this quite sad in a way. At least, I didn't come away from watching it with any sort of hope for our collective future or sanguinity about the nature of man and showbiz.
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the poems were an amazing touch

 
cstu said:
Wingnut said:
Quite the trip down memory lane. I remember a lot of the shows they showed clips from. I didn't realize the show lasted less than 2 years, it seems like it was on for a lot longer. Like they said in the documentary - quick rise, quick fall.
Click to expand...
That's it? He was definitely a huge star back then but I guess people could only handle so much.
Click to expand...
Flew too close to the sun, it's a classic tale really. Not classy, but classic.

 
It was kind of a fun ride while it lasted. Especially the people in the crowd.

The whole situation reminds of the Trump thing now. An ego-maniac that will say/do almost anything for publicity and attention - deliberately spouting/exploiting things that will get lower educated Amuricans wound up.

 
This was excellent. Really well done. I had vague recollections of his show from when I was a kid. Interesting persona and story.

 
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