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Trivia / The Morton Downey Jr. Show

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  • Creator Backlash: Downey eventually came to regret a good chunk of what he'd done both on and off the show- although he still claimed it was not quite as bad as what went on with the Jerry Springer show. He also turned into an avid anti-smoker after his lung cancer diagnosis and was appalled that he may have been a major influence that led to so many kids taking up smoking in the 90s.
  • Creator Killer: The failure of the show's second season led Downey to declare bankruptcy, and his post-show followups (including stints on MSNBC and other radio shows) all crashed and bombed.
  • Dueling Shows: Downey's duel was with Wally George, who had been doing a similar show on Los Angeles television for some years beforehand. Downey appeared on George's show once, in 1984, arguing over who the better conservative was.
  • Follow the Leader: Almost every major trash talk show used elements that originally appeared on Downey's show, including audiences that talked back to the guests, or the fights that broke out between guests.
  • Keep Circulating the Tapes: To date, the show has never been reissued on DVD, and attempts by Downey's wife to bring the show to digital formats via fan campaigns appear to have stalled permanently. Luckily, the show can be acquired through torrents.
  • Referenced by...:
    • Aesop Rock's "Vititus" retells many fond memories of his life with his grandmother. Among them was a day when, instead of going skiing, "we opted out for Morton Downey Jr.".
    • On the track "Sick of You" from his album New York (1989), Lou Reed describes a "whacked out trucker" who "wipes out" an entire town in Arkansas by driving into a nuclear reactor, then exploits his 15 Minutes of Fame from the incident to appear on Morton Downey.
  • Short-Lived, Big Impact: The show only lasted two years, but it was one of the pioneers that kickstarted the "trash talk" shows genre like Jerry Springer.

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