Read the Angry Letter the Real-Life Ron Burgundy Sent PEOPLE in 1983 - People Magazine

By Alex Heigl

12/17/2013 at 02:30 PM EST

Newscaster Mort Crim, Will Ferrrell's inspiration for Ron Burgundy

Will Ferrell recently revealed that his inspiration for Anchorman's Ron Burgundy^[1] came from a real-life anchor named Mort Crim^[2] .

Crim worked at newsrooms around the country, and was – with anchorwoman Jessica Savitch in Philadelphia – part of one of the first male-female news desk pairings^[3] in the country.

Ferrell told The New York Times that he was inspired^[4] to create Ron Burgundy while watching a documentary about Savitch. Crim was speaking about his experience with Savitch, and as Ferrell recalls, "He literally said the line: 'You have to remember, back then I was a real male chauvinist pig. I was not nice to her.'"

Crim takes his fictional representation in great stride: "I don't think you ever really see yourself in a parody, but it was fun," he told^[5] Philadelphia magazine. "Like any good satire, [Ferrell] took a basic idea and took it all to the extreme to get comedic value from it."

Crim actually said recently that he identifies as a feminist^[6] , which brings us to our next point: While researching Crim, we came across a letter he'd written to PEOPLE in 1983^[7] , shortly after the magazine published a long feature on Savitch^[8] after her death.

"Your article about Jessica Savitch could have been a tribute to a gracious and talented lady," Crim's letter begins. "Instead, it was a hatchet job based on innuendo and the statements of disgruntled ex-associates."

"Jessica would have been the last person to claim she was a saint. But this hardworking journalist who cared deeply about her profession and her friends deserved far better than you gave her."

"When Jessica and I co-anchored the news in Philadelphia several years ago, a columnist took a couple of unfair shots at her. I reminded Jess then that the only way anyone can stab you in the back is if you're out front. Maybe that's why she was an easy target. "

The letter's signed, "Mort Crim, Detroit." Crim anchored at WDIV-TV^[9] , Detroit's NBC affiliate, from 1978 to 1997. His co-anchor? A woman named Carmen Harlan.

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References

1. ^{^} Ron Burgundy (www.people.com)


2. ^{^} came from a real-life anchor named Mort Crim (www.huffingtonpost.com)


3. ^{^} male-female news desk pairings (www.people.com)


4. ^{^} he was inspired (www.nytimes.com)


5. ^{^} he told (www.phillymag.com)


6. ^{^} that he identifies as a feminist (www.huffingtonpost.com)


7. ^{^} a letter he'd written to PEOPLE in 1983 (www.people.com)


8. ^{^} a long feature on Savitch (www.people.com)


9. ^{^} Crim anchored at WDIV-TV (www.mortcrimspeaks.com)