Anchorman: Is Ron Burgundy Based on a Real Person? – Ron Burgundy is the quirky protagonist of the satirical comedic film franchise ‘Anchorman.’ He is a chauvinist and a self-centered news anchor. He worked at a local San Diego TV station in the 1970s with a motley gang of childhood pals. He is concerned with his hair and himself, so finding a new opponent in Veronica Corningstone, the first female news anchor at his workplace, irritates him.
Burgundy’s character has won everyone’s hearts with his goofy yet sassy actions, and fans of the franchise often question if he is based on a real-life TV anchor. If you’re interested in learning more about Ron’s genuine roots, you’ve found a friend in us. Let’s see what we can find out together!
Is Ron Burgundy a Real-Life Person?
Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) is based on multiple people, not just one. To begin with, he is said to be influenced by Harold Greene, a successful journalist, and broadcaster who works at KCAL 9 News and CBS 2 News in Los Angeles. Burgundy’s attire and hair are influenced by his appearances at KCST-TV and 10News in San Diego in the mid-70s and early-80s, when he worked there.
In a May 2013 interview, his colleague Jack White revealed that the filmmakers combed through some of his old scrapbooks and moulded Burgundy’s style after Greene’s images. When it comes to how Ron Burgundy was created, the actor who plays him, Will Ferrell, got the inspiration for the character while watching a TV documentary about Jessica Savitch, one of the first female news anchors on television.
Mort Crim, her former co-anchor from the 1970s, admitted that he wasn’t particularly polite to her at the time. Ferrell created Burgundy’s character after noticing the pervasive misogyny in the newsroom during that decade, which his remarks reflected, and he shared the concept with Adam McKay, the director of the ‘Anchorman’ movies.
“You have to remember, back then, I was a real male chauvinist pig,” Crim said in the documentary. “He literally said the line: ‘You have to remember, back then I was a real male chauvinist pig,” Ferrell recalled in a November 2013 interview. ‘I wasn’t very nice to her.’
“The first time a woman comes into the newsroom, and you just have this petulant news team, that she’s obviously 10 times smarter than they are, and yet they’re in the dominant position,” the actor continued, and you just have this petulant news team, that she’s obviously 10 times smarter than they are, and yet they’re in the dominant position.” That was just an idea, and we took it from there.” “That avuncular, soothing, authoritative voice uttering dreadful things made us giggle,” the filmmaker said.
Apart from that, Ron Burgundy is a believable character, owing to his naiveté and his actions. In everyday life, we often try to avoid dealing with difficulties that arise in the outside world, and as a result, we make casual remarks.
Burgundy confidently mirrors this very human weakness, striking a chord with the audience. Aside from Crim and Greene, the fictional anchorman is based on Ferrell and McKay’s views of a variety of 1970s news anchors and has no resemblance to anyone off-screen.
