He turns 83 in two weeks and has been semi-retired since leaving WDIV in 1997 after 19 years as a news anchor. But Mort Crim doesn't stay idle in Jacksonville, Fla.
The ex-newsman tapes mock newscast bits from there for "Detroiters," the Comedy Central sitcom halfway through season two. His appearances usually are brief cameos, though this week he has several scenes in a showcase role shot here last year.
Mort Crim at Temple Bar in the Cass Corridor. (Comedy Central photo)
"When we think of a name that people trust, only one comes to mind," co-star Tim Robinson tells Crim at Temple Bar on Cass Avenue. Sam Richardson, as Robinson's ad agency partner, jumps in: "A man who taught us about the world and a man who picks us up on our worst day and cheers us on our best, the man we rely on most -- Mort Crim."
More like that is in a two-minute sample is below. The half-hour show is on at 10:30 p.m. Thursday.
"The episode, titled 'Mort Crim,' is one of the season's funniest so far," Julie Hinds writes in the Detroit Free Press after enjoying a preview DVD:
Motor City ad men Sam Duvet and Tim Cramblin . . . hire their favorite anchor, Crim, to star in a commercial.
The spot for a furniture store named Garner Weich (an homage to local staple Gardner-White) is supposed to be about feeling comfortable in tough times. But once the cameras begin rolling, Crim veers away from the script and somehow winds up challenging ISIS to a fight.
Despite pleas to stick to what's written, he refuses to stop ad-libbing. "I'm giving you gold. Don't make me shovel crap," he says.
-- Alan Stamm
