Who's the father?
March 19, 2008 12:41 PM   Subscribe

Is Steve Wilkos the new Morton Downey Jr.?
posted by tylerfulltilt (32 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: Pretty thin post, eh. -- mathowie



 
Trash talk shows have been covering provocative topics for a couple decades now, but how long has it been since a host was so openly hostile to his guests?
posted by tylerfulltilt at 12:45 PM on March 19, 2008


I'm glad someone else remembers Mort the Mouth. Or perhaps I only remember him because I'm one of those "pabulum-puking liberals."
posted by Afroblanco at 12:55 PM on March 19, 2008 [2 favorites]


Goodnight Moon.
posted by docpops at 12:55 PM on March 19, 2008


Zip it.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 12:58 PM on March 19, 2008


Because he's loud? Yelling in the face of people on his show? I don't know, from watching those two clips he looks like way less of a total fucking asshole.

Anyway, What kind of post is this? I expected more inside to at least try and depends a seeming random bit of not too postworthy material.
posted by Stunt at 12:59 PM on March 19, 2008


depends? yeah. defend. typos that equal other words = bah.
posted by Stunt at 1:00 PM on March 19, 2008


All Steve needs is a giant on stage ashtray, like ol' Morton used to have.

I used to always watch his show when I was a young teen, it came on right before Benny Hill. I remember fondly, looking up "pabulum" in the dictionary the first time I heard him use it as an insult!
posted by Asbestos McPinto at 1:01 PM on March 19, 2008


Jeez, I read this as Robert Downey, Jr, and was like, "???"
posted by humannaire at 1:06 PM on March 19, 2008 [1 favorite]


I am proud to say that I own a copy of Morton Downey's album, "Morton Downey Jr. Sings."

Thrill to Mort's self-aggrandizing lyrics in "Blue Collar King!"

Cheer as Mort mocks the health-care system in "Operate, Operate," the shameless and empty pursuit of wealth in "Mr. Yuppies' Birthday Party," and the hypocrisy of the legal and political systems in "Lawyer Named Sue" and "Senator Paperman"!

Weep as Mort tells the sad tale of the homeless in "Old Man," the forgotten Vietnam Vets in "Last American Hero," sexually abused women in "Lady of the Night," and the pitiful state of the environment in "Solution to Pollution"!

And finally, feel yourself inspired to go out and fight for the American Way of Life as Mort gives pushers a piece of his mind in "Hey Mr. Dealer" and teaches everyone how to stand up for themselves with "Zip It!"


On a side note, how the fuck did Steve Wilkos get his own show? The guy seems like a sub-literate Neanderthal. Wasn't he Jerry Springer's bouncer?
posted by papakwanz at 1:12 PM on March 19, 2008


Yes, all you've given us is a clip of what looks like a promo for one episode of the guy's show. He sure looks like a (badly dressed) jerk. I could just google his name and read his Wikipedia page, but if you're trying to make a post about the guy, you should be finding this kind of information for the post.

I can learn about any number of things by searching for them on the interwebz. If I had to do that for every FPP here, what would be the point of being here?

Trash talk shows have been covering provocative topics for a couple decades now, but how long has it been since a host was so openly hostile to his guests?

You should be telling us this, with supporting links.
posted by ninjew at 1:13 PM on March 19, 2008


MAD Magazine did a spot-on perfect send up of MDJ back in 1989. Cover here (if anyone can find the actual contents scanned, that would be just awesome).
posted by adamms222 at 1:15 PM on March 19, 2008


so... this post is here, huh?
posted by shmegegge at 1:16 PM on March 19, 2008


sorry - cover here.
posted by adamms222 at 1:17 PM on March 19, 2008


I have a remarkable tolerance to crap talk shows but I have yet to be able to watch a full episode of the Wilkos show. All the man does is yell and he rarely, if ever, makes a lick of sense. He is so painfully stupid that I can't help but feel embarrassed on his behalf.
posted by pookzilla at 1:22 PM on March 19, 2008


Reminds me of an extrreeme Jeremy Kyle, he's our nearest equivalent in the UK.
posted by TheWaves at 1:22 PM on March 19, 2008


Morton Downey's career ended in disgrace after an incident where he claimed "neo nazis" had cut his hair and spray-painted a swastika on his face, but security cameras showed he was alone in the airport men's room.

Touchingly, his wife (girlfriend at the time?) Lori stood by him and had nothing but good things to say about him.

He got a papal award from the Pope?
posted by StickyCarpet at 1:27 PM on March 19, 2008


Man, who wouldn't remember when Morton Downey was 'attacked by skinheads' in a public toilet in a desperate attempt to get ratings. I'm sure when this self-aggrandizing psycho starts to slip from the public eye, we'll see some similar behavior.

My old roommate and I used to a have a running joke about all the things that skinheads had done to 'Ol Morton. My fave was: "Skinheads glued oreos to my face!"
posted by lumpenprole at 1:29 PM on March 19, 2008


hhhhuh.
posted by boo_radley at 1:31 PM on March 19, 2008


When I was in graduate school, there was one semester when I received funding but didn't have to teach, so I'd spend my entire day working on my dissertation. I had a TV next to the computer, and I soon discovered that if I timed it right, in my area you could watch three different episodes of Jerry Springer scattered across three channels each day. I did this five days a week--the mindlessness of Springer was a perfect counterpoint to the work I was doing.

The thing about Steve is that, yeah, he was Jerry's bouncer, but he was a deliberately bad bouncer. A real bouncer would have intervened before an altercation started to escalate into a fight, but Steve would just hang back for a while with his arms folded until each opponent got a couple of shots in. Then suddenly he'd run to the stage, like he was in a hurry. The youtube clip above just reminded me of what a transparent actor Steve always was.

I don't advise watching fifteen episodes of Springer a week, by the way--it'll do things to you. A few weeks after I quit, the world began to somehow seem a bit brighter, and I no longer thought that humans were no better than animals.
posted by Prospero at 1:37 PM on March 19, 2008


You know what I like about this? He's mean. Real mean.

Here's a link.
posted by Pecinpah at 1:37 PM on March 19, 2008


Well, Morton's shtick was mostly an act. I'm at work and can't watch the video, but, if this guy is an over-the-top pundit who is just pressing people's buttons for the purpose of entertainment and for the betterment of his own career, then, yes, maybe he is another Morton Downey, Jr.
posted by krinklyfig at 1:54 PM on March 19, 2008


I had that issue, adamms222. Heh, "Moron Downer, Jr." That was second only to "Star Blecch II: The Wrath of Korn" for sheer hilariousness to this 12 year-old.
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:09 PM on March 19, 2008


Y'know, when you're mugging talk show commentators in bathrooms, always remember to draw the swastika turning to the right, not to the left, always to the right.

I'm pretty sure Morton Downey Jr. was a character. I don't have anything to base this on, but he always seemed like a big joke everyone was in on, especially in his appearances outside of his own show such as when Rowdy Roddy Piper sprayed him with a fire extinguisher at Wrestlemania one year. Now, however, we have right-wing media whores who are far worse and 100% real. Ah, the good 'ol days.
posted by DecemberBoy at 2:13 PM on March 19, 2008


I think Morton Downey, Jr.'s immediate heir was Rush Limbaugh who took the caustic, right-wing, loudmouth TV personality to new levels.
posted by Rarebit Fiend at 2:24 PM on March 19, 2008


I think in some ways that Mort has become a prototype for news/talk show hosts to emulate. Before him, that level of confrontation was never seen in news magazine type shows. His confrontational attitude and ability to rile people up was extraordinary, and thinking about DecemberBoy's comment, He really was like a wrestling villain in a way.

Perhaps I should have posted some clips comparing him and Andy Kaufmann when andy was doing his thing with lawler. Now that I think about it, the similarities in their behavior are kind of large.
posted by tylerfulltilt at 2:25 PM on March 19, 2008


I had that issue, adamms222. Heh, "Moron Downer, Jr." That was second only to "Star Blecch II: The Wrath of Korn" for sheer hilariousness to this 12 year-old.

Wow, count me as another twink boy who found that issue HI-larious.

I'm pretty sure Morton Downey Jr. was a character.

Yes, pretty sure too, character or caricature though?

Now, however, we have right-wing media whores who are far worse and 100% real.

Who? Rush? O'Reilly? Coulter? I'm pretty sure those are characters too.
posted by Pollomacho at 2:25 PM on March 19, 2008


I have a soft spot in my heart for old Mort, his giant butt crammed ashtray, his liver-colored glistening lips, his Archie Bunker meets the shop teacher understanding of the world, he takes me back to a better place where that kid I knew could solve the Rubic's Cube in under a minute and all the worlds problems were caused by Yuppies, "Muggers" and the USSR.

A warm piece of nostalgia. Your modern Right Wing blowhards can't hold a candle to the mouth.
posted by Divine_Wino at 2:39 PM on March 19, 2008 [1 favorite]


"Pablum-puking" needs to come back into the American political lexicon.
posted by DU at 2:51 PM on March 19, 2008


I think Morton Downey, Jr.'s immediate heir was Rush Limbaugh who took the caustic, right-wing, loudmouth TV personality to new levels.

Disturbingly, they both got their radio talk show start at the same station here in Sacramento: KFBK. (The things you learn from Wikipedia).
posted by Ogre Lawless at 3:31 PM on March 19, 2008


MAD Magazine did a spot-on perfect send up of MDJ back in 1989. Cover here (if anyone can find the actual contents scanned, that would be just awesome).

MAD's take on Mort (fair comment and criticism... right? Go out and buy Absolutely MAD on DVD!)
One
Two
Three
Four

Page four is gold...
posted by starman at 3:35 PM on March 19, 2008


Page three a little bigger.
posted by starman at 3:39 PM on March 19, 2008


I TOOK ACTING LESSONS AT THE KEANU REEVES SCHOOL OF RAW EMOTION AND NOW I'M READY TO ASK REDNECKS TOUGH QUESTIONS
posted by nanojath at 3:43 PM on March 19, 2008


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