Mort Crim has reported on major conflicts around the world for more than four decades and was a major inspiration for Will Ferrell’s performance in the movie Anchorman. Crim’s memoir takes listeners behind the camera to show what life was like when the local anchorman was as revered as the professional athlete, and just as overpaid. It was a glamorous life, working alongside some of journalism’s legends: Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley, Dan Rather, and Ted Koppel.
The son of an evangelical minister in a conservative church, Crim suffered his first crisis of faith at the age of fifteen. Despite nagging questions, Crim eventually followed his father’s path into ministry. But the more he delved into the Bible, the more his faith was shaken. Unable to defend from the pulpit things he wasn’t sure of, Crim left the ministry for a career in journalism, determined to pursue truth.
After a four-year stint in the Air Force, he earned his master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University, and by the age of thirty, had made it to New York—the epicenter of his profession. As a national correspondent for ABC, Crim anchored the network’s top-rated morning radio show and covered America’s newly developing manned space program. When Neil Armstrong took that first step on the moon, it was Crim’s voice that described the historic event for millions around the world.
At the urging of Walter Cronkite, Crim moved from network radio into the heady world of television news. At KYW in Philadelphia, Mort Crim was paired with the late Jessica Savitch, and their anchor team spawned the idea for Will Ferrell’s Anchorman movies. Crim’s journey for truth will resonate with anyone raised in a cocoon of certainty that they felt compelled to question.
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“In an era where speculation passes for news, thank you for always telling the truth. You left your mark not only in front of the camera, but throughout the community with your tireless efforts to make where we live a better place to be. Thanks for everything, Mort. You were Detroit’s answer to Walter Cronkite.”
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Jeff Daniels, actor