Jerry Springer, one of the most influential talk show hosts in TV history, has died. He was 79.
Springer died peacefully in his home in suburban Chicago on Thursday, his family confirmed, according to a report from his longtime employer, NBC affiliate WLWT in Cincinnati.
“Jerry’s ability to connect with people was at the heart of his success in everything he tried whether that was politics, broadcasting or just joking with people on the street who wanted a photo or a word,” said Jene Galvin, a lifelong friend and spokesperson for the family. “He’s irreplaceable and his loss hurts immensely, but memories of his intellect, heart and humor will live on.”
Springer was reportedly diagnosed with cancer a few months ago, which unfortunately took a bad turn this week, according to TMZ.
Springer spoke to The Post just last year and touched on his pop culture legacy.
“If a legacy is what you’re best-known for, obviously I’m best known for the crazy show,” he said, alluding to “The Jerry Springer Show.”
“In a sense, I’ve become an adjective in the English language when people say ‘I’m having a Jerry Springer moment’ or when they say ‘Don’t go Jerry Springer on me now.’ Everyone knows instantly what they’re talking about.”
Springer — Gerald Norman “Jerry” Springer — was born on Feb. 13, 1944, in London, England, to Jewish refugees from Germany. Both of his grandmothers were killed in Nazi concentration camps.
His family emigrated to the US in January 1949 when Springer was almost 5 years old, settling in Queens, New York, where he grew up with his sister, Evelyn.
He attended Tulane University where he received a BA in political science in 1965 — a time that fostered his interest in broadcast while DJing for the school-run radio station, WTUL New Orleans FM.
After graduating from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, Springer moved to Cincinnati and found work on Robert Kennedy’s presidential campaign, marking the start of his career in the political sphere.
While in Cincinnati, he was the chairman of the Hamilton County “Voter-19 Campaign,” seeking to lower the voting age in Ohio, according to ABC’s WCPO 9 Cincinnati.
After making a dent in local politics, he unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1970 as a Democrat against four-term incumbent Republican Donald Clancy.
Just three days after announcing his candidacy for Congress, Springer, who served in the US Army Reserves at the time, was called to active duty and deployed to Fort Knox. He continued his campaign when he was discharged.
He got 45% of the vote, short of clenching the nomination.
Springer was then elected to Cincinnati’s City Council in 1971 and re-elected in 1973 — but his political stint didn’t come without controversy: He was reportedly known as “the city council member who got caught paying for sex with checks.”
Springer resigned from Cincinnati City Council on April 29, 1974, making a public apology and confession.
Later, in 1977, he was elected as Cincinnati’s 56th mayor and served one term.
Yet his time as mayor saw no end to his media pursuits.
While serving the Queen City, rock radio station WEBN-FM featured commentaries by Springer, dubbed “The Springer Memorandum.” His radio takes would help him later get hired as a TV political reporter and commentator, then primary news anchor and managing editor, for WLWT — where he first coined his signature phrase: “Take care of yourself, and each other.”
He soon became the city’s most popular news anchor, earning 10 local Emmy Awards. His topical commentaries would eventually become the basis for his “Final Thought” segment on “Jerry Springer.”
He unsuccessfully ran in the Democratic party primary for governor of Ohio in 1982. He also considered running for the US Senate in both 2000 and 2004 but ultimately decided against it.
“Jerry Springer” debuted Sept. 30, 1991, on WLWT as their answer to the popular “The Phil Donahue Show” — even chopping Springer’s hair and fashioning him with new glasses to mimic Donahue’s look.
But Springer’s broadcast, which launched as a politically oriented talk show, became a wholly different spectacle by year three on air.
In 1993, the show got a new producer, Richard Dominick, who helped overhaul the format to garner a larger audience. Rather than politicians and public figures, guests became ordinary people with extraordinary stories to tell.
They came to the show to confess their secrets — of adultery, homosexuality, disability, transgenderism and other arguably taboo subjects of the time — usually with family and lovers in tow. Often, those heated confrontations would lead to shouting and violence on stage — to the extent that viewers came to expect a scuffle with each weekday installment.
By 1998, “Jerry Springer” rivaled ratings for “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in several local markets, reaching close to 7 million viewers in a given episode.
In 2007, VH1 produced “The Springer Hustle” docu-series, which gave fans a behind-the-scenes look at how his controversial talk show is produced.
For nearly two years between 2005 and 2006, he hosted a liberal talk show, “Springer on the Radio,” on Cincinnati’s WCKY-AM.
In the meantime, Springer could be seen hosting a slew of televised specials, including two Miss World pageants, one Miss Universe competition and a number of WWE presentations.
He also signed on with “America’s Got Talent” on NBC, replacing Regis Philbin for the competition show’s second and third seasons in 2007 and 2008.
From 2010 to 2015, he fronted a dating game show, “Baggage.” The same year that ended, Springer took his radio chops to the streaming airwaves with the “Jerry Springer Podcast” — where he made history as the second American talk show host to travel to Cuba, after Conan O’Brien in early 2015.
“Jerry Springer” enjoyed 27 memorable seasons before its final new episode on July 26, 2018, though it continued to air in syndication for years to come.
Springer briefly helmed a courtroom show, “Judge Jerry,” between 2019 and 2022, in which he could flex his legal prowess and engage a somewhat more “grownup” job, he told The Post when the show premiered.
“I have to do research and I have to remember what I learned in law school and practicing law,” he told The Post about the seriousness of his new role. “I really do my homework.”
That standard continued through the show’s run.
“It’s a court and my decisions are legally binding, so we can’t screw around,” he told The Post at the start of the third and final season in 2021.
Ever the self-effacing broadcaster, he also stepped us as a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars” in 2006, and, more recently, on last year’s season of “The Masked Singer.”
Springer is survived by his ex-wife, Micki Velton, and his daughter Katie.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks fans to consider making a donation or committing to an act of kindness to someone in need or an advocacy organization.
They added in their statement, “As he always said, ‘Take care of yourself, and each other.’”
