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Jerry Springer dead at 79

The entertainment community is shocked after the “Ringmaster” of daytime talk, Jerry Springer, has died at the age of 79.

His family says he died peacefully at his suburban Chicago home on Thursday.

A spokesperson for the family released the following statement:

“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. He’s irreplaceable and his loss hurts immensely, but memories of his intellect, heart and humor will live on.”

Gerald Norman Springer was born on February 13, 1944 in the London Underground station of Highgate while the station was in use as a shelter from German bombing during World War II, and grew up on Chandos Road, East Finchley.

In January 1949, at the age of four, Springer immigrated with his parents to the United States, settling in the Kew Gardens neighborhood of Queens, New York City. Springer earned a B.A. degree from Tulane University in 1965, majoring in political science. He earned a J.D. degree from Northwestern University in 1968.

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He had a long and successful career, serving as a broadcaster, journalist, actor, producer, former lawyer, and politician.

Springer served as the 56th Mayor of Cincinnati from 1977 to 1978. He was best known for hosting the tabloid talk show, “Jerry Springer” between September 30, 1991, and July 26, 2018. He debuted the Jerry Springer Podcast in 2015. From 2007 to 2008, Springer hosted America’s Got Talent, and from September 2019 until 2022, Springer hosted the courtroom show Judge Jerry.

Talk Show Fame

“Jerry Springer” debuted on September 30, 1991. It was developed by WLWT to mimic the format and look of fellow talk show The Phil Donahue Show, all the way down to Jerry’s haircut and glasses, making him look like Phil Donahue (both were produced by Multimedia Entertainment). It started as a politically oriented talk show, a longer version of Springer’s commentaries. Guests included Oliver North and Jesse Jackson, and topics included homelessness and gun politics.

In early 1994, Springer and his new producer, Richard Dominick, revamped the show’s format in order to garner higher ratings. The show became more successful as it became targeted toward tabloidish sensationalism. Guests were everyday people confronted on a television stage by a spouse or family member’s adultery, homosexuality, prostitution, transvestism, hate group membership, or other controversial situations. These confrontations were often promoted by scripted shouting or violence on stage. The show received substantial ratings and much attention. By 1998, it was beating The Oprah Winfrey Show in many cities, and was reaching more than 6.7 million viewers.

On July 10, 2002, the sons of guest Nancy Campbell-Panitz – who was murdered by her ex-husband after they appeared on a May 2000 episode with his girlfriend – filed suit in Sarasota County against Springer, his producers, and his distributor, claiming he created “a mood that led to murder.” Ultimately, the estate of Campbell-Panitz dropped all monetary claims against Jerry Springer and the show agreed to waive its claims for malicious prosecution against the personal representative of the estate of Campbell-Panitz and his counsel.

In 2005, a UK version of the show aired on Britain’s ITV network titled The Springer Show. A subdued and more tongue-in-cheek version of the U.S. show, it beat its talk-show rival Trisha Goddard five to one in the ratings.

The VH1 “celebreality” series The Springer Hustle, which took a look at how Jerry Springer is produced, premiered in April 2007.

In April 2015, Springer debuted The Jerry Springer Podcast on his website, JerrySpringer.com.[29] It is also broadcast in the UK on Talkradio, on Sundays at midnight. Springer is the second American talk show host to travel to Cuba, after Conan O’Brien, for The Jerry Springer Podcast.

On July 26, 2018, Jerry Springer aired its final episode in syndication after 27 seasons before it began airing reruns on The CW on September 10, 2018.