Really? New Film Tries to Compare Beck to .... Morton Downey, Jr.!

Do you remember Morton Downey Jr. -- the obnoxious, chain-smoking radio and television talk show host of the 1980s and early 1990s, famed for blowing smoke in his interviewees' faces and who often engaged in verbal and physical altercations with his guests? Well, a group of filmmakers does and decided to make a documentary about the late provocateur titled, "Evocateur." Rather than pay homage to the shock-jock, however, the documentary's directors paint him as a rather pathetic character so desperate for his day in the spotlight that, in a ruse, he argued positions that he himself did not even believe in. In other words, according to Evocateur's creators, he was just the predecessor for carbon-copy "populists," Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. But while Limbaugh did eventually fill Downey's radio network and time slot, that is likely where the real similarities end.

To refresh the memory of some of Downey's more piquant escapades, watch the video montage below. Caution, strong language is used in this video and the ones that follow. Downey was, after all, not known for his etiquette.

From the movie's official site:

Before Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, another populist ruled the airwaves. World, re-meet Morton Downey, Jr.: the original f**king loudmouth. A heavy metal parable, ÉVOCATEUR: THE MORTON DOWNEY JR. MOVIE features never-before-seen footage, fanboy animation, and appearances from comedian Chris Elliott to four Republican presidential candidates, including évocateur-du-jour Herman Cain.

Below is the documentary trailer.

Walking further down memory lane, do your remember when Ron Paul appeared as a guest on Downey's show?

Ironically, Downey was actually a Democrat from an affluent background who grew up alongside the Kennedys. His parents were crooner Morton Downey Sr. and actress Barbara Bennett. The loudmouth's trademark was to take center stage and dole out as much belligerence and abuse as his viewers could handle...and then some. He popularized his favorite catch phrases: "Zip it!" (for which he sang a song by the same title) and once chest-butted (repeatedly) a promiscuous women on his set, invoking several choice pejoratives in the process.

Yes, upon further scrutiny, the resemblance to Beck and Limbaugh are uncanny!

(We are being facetious, of course).

Yet while all of this might be considered entertaining to some, others will find the filmmakers' comparison of Downey Jr. to Beck and Limbaugh as just another attempt to discredit conservative and libertarian-leaning talk radio and television.