Anchorman cited as 'real Ron Burgundy' has Hoosier ties

• Big-voiced Mort Crim bristled at TV changes in the 1970s
• His father preached in Fountain Square%3B his stepson serves on City-County Council
• He%27s headed to NYC premiere of %27Anchorman 2%27

The 1970s TV newsman who inspired Will Ferrell to create the character Ron Burgundy is doing waves of interviews before "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" opens in theaters.

And the real-life story of Mort Crim leads back to Indiana.

Crim — who worked as an anchorman in Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago and Louisville — spent stages of his boyhood and teen years in Indianapolis, Marion, Anderson and South Bend.

His father, the late Rev. Albert Crim, was pastor of the Fountain Square Church of God in the 1940s. Mort's stepson, Jeff Miller, today represents Fountain Square on the City-County Council.

Miller said Ferrell didn't pattern the superficial and clownish aspects of Burgundy after Crim. But the smooth, authoritative voice is a match.

"(Crim) is the consummate professional," Miller said. "He would say things that are difficult to say, and he'd say them straight up. I think that persona, taken to saying silly lines, becomes incredibly humorous."

The Burgundy character became a film sensation with the release of 2004's "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy." The sequel is scheduled for release on Dec. 18.

Crim, a 78-year-old retiree who lives in Jacksonville, Fla., never used a sign-off catchphrase to rival Burgundy's "Stay classy, San Diego."

"I didn't have anything cheesy," Crim said in a phone interview. "I played it pretty straight and said, 'That's tonight's report. Have a good evening.' "

And Crim was clean-shaven throughout his anchor days that spanned the late 1960s to 1997, a noteworthy contrast to Burgundy's imposing mustache.

"I grew a mustache briefly in my retirement," Crim said. "It met with such universal disapproval, both within the family and without, that I shaved it off. It was a very short run."

The Crim-Burgundy connection was forged when Ferrell watched a documentary on trail-blazing female anchor Jessica Savitch. As an 11 p.m. anchor for Philadelphia's KYW-TV, Crim bristled at the station's decision to bring 25-year-old Savitch on as a co-anchor.

"I was a typical, traditional 1972 male chauvinist anchor," Crim said in the documentary made by the Lifetime cable network in 1995. "I liked women, but I wasn't sure their place was necessarily sitting beside me on an anchor set doing what I did."

Fans of the first "Anchorman" movie will recall Burgundy expressing a similar attitude toward Veronica Corningstone, portrayed by Christina Applegate.

Ferrell mentioned Crim's inspiration for Burgundy in the Dec. 19 issue of Rolling Stone magazine. In recent days, Crim has given interviews to Philadelphia magazine, USA Today, CNN and The Detroit Free Press.

Revisiting the topic of Savitch, Crim said he had more of a problem with her inexperience than gender.

"Maybe it was arrogant, but we were all pretty confident that we'd paid our dues and we had earned the right to sit in the anchor chair," Crim said. "And here's a good-looking 25-year-old woman from Texas who is brought in and plopped right down to be our equal without having paid her dues."

Savitch, who went on to become a national weekend anchor for NBC before dying in car accident in 1983, wasn't shunned by Crim — or sabotaged, as in the fictional tale of Burgundy and Corningstone. The Crim-Savitch duo scored big ratings and became known as "the dream team."

At a dinner before their first newscast, Crim said he told Savitch: "Our fates are intertwined. I want you to know that I will be supportive and helpful and do everything I can to help you succeed. We're going to succeed or fail together in this venture."

Crim eventually moved from Philadelphia to Detroit's WDIV-TV, where he apparently exhibited some Burgundy-esque traits. A song titled "Mort Crim's Hairspray" became a novelty hit.

"I love parody," Crim said. "I always enjoyed the old 'Mary Tyler Moore Show.' Ted (Baxter) was such an egotistical airhead. It was just fun to watch him."

Is Crim steamed to be linked to Burgundy, a character who can't function without a Teleprompter?

"If Ferrell had done it as a documentary, that would be offensive," Crim said. "But this is comedy. I laugh harder than anybody."

An unusual love story could be fashioned from the history of Crim and Miller's mother, Irene.

Irene, known as "Renee," first encountered Crim when he delivered the commencement address for Anderson University in 1989. Jeff was part of the graduating class.

Crim served on the board of trustees for 15 years at Anderson, where his father and an uncle taught.

Impressed by Crim's speech, Renee mailed a letter to the Detroit newsman — who responded by flying his plane to Indiana for their first date. They've been married since 1991.

Crim left TV news in 1997 and found a thriving second career recording "Second Thoughts" radio essays heard on 700 stations, including bygone WTPI-FM (107.9) in Indianapolis.

"He said the news didn't give him enough room to tell the positive stories, and that's all he wanted to do at that point in his life," Jeff Miller said.

Crim's run of "Anchorman" attention will culminate on Dec. 15 in New York City, where he will attend the sequel's East Coast premiere and meet Ferrell for the first time.

"It's kind of fun," Crim said. "I'm 78 years old and retired. It's a little action I haven't seen in a few years."

Call Star reporter David Lindquist at (317) 444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.