# David Horowitz has stopped fighting back

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [February 19, 2019, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845 "2019-02-19T18:05:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845/1 "2019-02-19T18:05:44Z")

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Consumer journalist David Horowitz [has died at 81](https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/David-Horowitz-passes-away-81-506025941.html).

If you were in Southern California in the '80s and watched NBC, you’ll remember _Fight Back! With David Horowitz_, where he brought media attention to consumer complaints.

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**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845/2 "2019-02-19T18:54:37Z")

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I haven’t thought about DH in 30+ years but just the mention of his name conjured an instant image of him in my mind. Another childhood blast from past.

RIP, David.

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**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845/3 "2019-02-19T19:01:46Z")

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> [@Johnny\_L.A](#):
>
> Consumer journalist David Horowitz [has died at 81](https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/David-Horowitz-passes-away-81-506025941.html).
> 
> If you were in Southern California in the '80s and watched NBC, you’ll remember _Fight Back! With David Horowitz_, where he brought media attention to consumer complaints.

I was watching him in Minnesota in the early '80s, though I seem to remember him being on CBS. _ **Fight Back** _ was always on in the late afternoon or early evening on Sundays, as I recall.

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845/4 "2019-02-19T19:04:28Z")

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> [@WOOKINPANUB](#):
>
> I haven’t thought about DH in 30+ years but just the mention of his name conjured an instant image of him in my mind. Another childhood blast from past.
> 
> RIP, David.

Same here. I mean, like almost literally, that was my exact train of thought, but I wouldn’t have recognized the name if not for the “fighting back” in the OP which triggered a latent “Fight Back! With David Horowitz” ping-ponging somewhere in the recesses of my brain. I don’t even remember the show or anything about it, but he apparently branded himself well enough that decades nigh, I still remember it.

RIP.

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**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845/5 "2019-02-19T19:30:03Z")

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I remember him. I also had the hots for Christine Lund.

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**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845/6 "2019-02-19T19:45:30Z")

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> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> I remember him. I also had the hots for Christine Lund.

I remember her [del] awful [/del] unique hairdo. Also, Jerry Dunphy!

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**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845/7 "2019-02-19T20:09:32Z")

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> [@Johnny\_L.A](#):
>
> Consumer journalist David Horowitz [has died at 81](https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/David-Horowitz-passes-away-81-506025941.html).
> 
> If you were in Southern California in the '80s and watched NBC, you’ll remember _Fight Back! With David Horowitz_, where he brought media attention to consumer complaints.

I’m pretty sure Fight Back! was national. However, his earlier show - something like _Consumer Watchdog_ - may have been limited to California. Every episode had him try to duplicate what he thought was a deceptive ad in a commercial, but it wasn’t always an exact match - for example, there was a commercial for Lincoln Continentals where somebody in the back seat cut a diamond while it was driving on a bumpy road, but Horowitz had the same thing done in a VW Beetle.

One thing I remember about Horowitz: he was the first person I know of to warn people of pyramid schemes (called “Circle of Gold” back then).

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845/8 "2019-02-19T20:12:53Z")

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> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> I also had the hots for Christine Lund.

I wanted to be stuck in a pagoda with [Tritia Toyota](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQJmU_OkY4falvxrW96tvbcRjyDbrh5wFDKlBRUSG5hnnzdyzkh).

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845/9 "2019-02-19T20:13:58Z")

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> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#):
>
> I’m pretty sure Fight Back! was national.

I remember him from the afternoon news. I’m pretty sure he was in the local studio. (That doesn’t mean he wasn’t national, though.)

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**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845/10 "2019-02-19T20:15:04Z")

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> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> Same here. I mean, like almost literally, that was my exact train of thought

Me too, too.

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**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845/11 "2019-02-19T20:44:42Z")

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> [@WOOKINPANUB](#):
>
> I remember her [del] awful [/del] unique hairdo. Also, Jerry Dunphy!

“From the desert to the sea, to all of Southern California, a good evening.”

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**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845/12 "2019-02-19T21:24:27Z")

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I’m guessing Antenna TV will feature some of his appearances with Johnny Carson in the coming days.

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**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845/13 "2019-02-19T22:11:45Z")

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> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> “From the desert to the sea, to all of Southern California, a good evening.”

The model for Ted Baxter!

I always thought it was George Putnam, but I read that it was Jerry Dunphy.

I remember David Horowitz well, RIP.

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**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845/14 "2019-02-19T22:31:10Z")

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> [@WOOKINPANUB](#):
>
> I remember her [del] awful [/del] unique hairdo.

I looked it up. A feathered shag. Like a hybrid of Bree Daniels and Farrah Fawcett-Majors. Ah, the '70s.

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**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845/15 "2019-02-19T22:32:18Z")

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> [@Johnny\_L.A](#):
>
> I wanted to be stuck in a pagoda with [Tritia Toyota](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQJmU_OkY4falvxrW96tvbcRjyDbrh5wFDKlBRUSG5hnnzdyzkh).

Here we have [Nina Melhoff](https://www.kgw.com/article/about-us/team-bios/nina-mehlhaf-kgw-anchorreporter/283-3190731). Rowr.

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**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845/16 "2019-02-19T22:38:03Z")

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Seeing the thread title, I was hopeful it was that neocon asshole by the same name. No such luck. ☹

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**Author:** ![bionic\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/49beb7/32.png) [@bionic\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bionic_man)\
**Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845/17 "2019-02-23T03:48:03Z")

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For a moment i thought you were going to say David Horowitz was supporting trump!!!:smack:

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**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\
**Post date:** [February 23, 2019, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845/18 "2019-02-23T04:18:51Z")

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I remember him on the ch4 news in la and the show both of which he lost when he backed some insurance prop that was being voted on in campaign ads and then everyone said he “sold” out  
My favorite one was where Heinz had a commercial saying the ketchup was so thick you had time to run down 3 flights of stairs and order one from a cart and put the dog under it before it hit the ground

he found out Heinz was too thick to pour from a bottle that was evenly placed on the side so they thinned the ketchup so it would run out of the bottle ……

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**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\
**Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845/19 "2019-02-27T06:34:35Z")

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I am familiar with him mostly because he did an interview in one of my favorite issues of _Playboy_. The funniest part of it is probably where he describes assisting a guy who had ordered a blow-up doll but was shipped the wrong model. I also like the part where a representative of a floor detergent that he gave a poor grade to calls him up and gives him a hard time because he didn’t use “the right formula for dirt” during the testing process.

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**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\
**Post date:** [February 27, 2019, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845/20 "2019-02-27T07:38:35Z")

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JpnDad and I used to watch “Fight Back!” in those days. He was also in an on-air [hostage incident](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG8sn8o-vFc) (YouTube).

[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/david-horowitz-has-stopped-fighting-back/829845.md?page=2)
