Downey may bring TV production company to South
Florida
By ANNE MONCREIFF ARRARTE
Miami Herald Business Writer
Hoping to jump start his television TV career in South Florida, talk show host Morton
Downey is working on a deal to move his Los Angeles production company to a
facility at the Pompano Park Racetrack.
Downey, who has been fighting lung cancer for 18 months, plans to move Morton
Downey Productions into a 4,000-square-foot facility area on the sixth floor of the
track's clubhouse. The facility, which will be built by the track will build for an
estimated $80,000, will include a television TV studio and offices for 30 staffers. The
company now employs 16 people.
The studio construction would be part of a move by Casino America, which owns the
330-acre Pompano Beach site, to increase attendance at the park. Last month, the
company announced it will build a $100 million, 140-acre retail-entertainment complex
adjacent to the track.
''There is a lot of allure in moving to Florida, and Fort Lauderdale seems particularly
eager to help build a viable production presence,'' said Downey, 65. ''Already
Pompano Racetrack is committing to the renovation and had made a $250,000
investment in our company. Now we need to pin down our other investors.''
Downey, who has raised an additional $250,000 from other local investors, said he
needs an additional $1 million to make the move.
Famous as the abrasive host of a syndicated talk show in the late 1980s, Downey
quit television in 1991, saying he couldn't stand the pressure of his fame. In 1996, he
lost half of his right lung to cancer. Three weeks ago, the rest of the lung was
removed.
Initially, Morton Downey Productions would produce three programs in Fort
Lauderdale, Downey said. One, a one-hour weekly business show called Invest
America, airs on 105 stations in secondary TV markets. The other two -- daily talk
shows tentatively called Where Enemies Meet, where rivals are united before a live
audience, and The Survivors, about people who have overcome disaster and illness --
are in development.
''We are ardently trying to get Mr. Downey to come here and hope this deal works,''
said Elizabeth Wentworth, director of Broward's film and television office. ''I like this
because it offers us the opportunity to get a program on the air that says, 'Live from
Pompano.' ''
Pompano Park executives are equally enthusiastic about the potential publicity,
Koslow said. In fact, if the Downey project generates enough industry interest -- and
investors -- Casino America will dedicate a 40-acre parcel for the development of a
$35 million film, recording and TV studio.
''Right now, we are talking to major studios about the possibility,'' Koslow said. ''It is
just one of several entertainment alternatives that the track owners are trying to
implement.'' |
