Talk Show Host Jerry Springer Passes Away at Age 79 after Short Illness

This article was last updated on April 28, 2023

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The Life and Career of Jerry Springer

American talk show host Jerry Springer died this morning at his home in Chicago, at the age of 79, after a battle with cancer. Springer became world famous in the 90s with his controversial talk show The Jerry Springer Show. His career was marked by political and personal scandals, making him a beloved but sometimes controversial public figure.

A Controversial Legacy

The Jerry Springer Show was first shown on American television in 1991 and was initially intended as a serious talk show that mainly discussed politics. Springer, a Democrat and a former mayor of the city of Cincinnati, had run for governor of Ohio. The serious approach of his show was not a success, and it turned into a cabinet of curiosities where emotions ran high. In The Jerry Springer Show, which was later also shown in the Netherlands, ordinary Americans came to talk about personal issues and relational dramas. That resulted in spectacular television, often with guests who were unpleasantly surprised on stage, fights regularly breaking out and chairs and glasses of water being thrown around the studio.

27 years of The Jerry Springer Show

Despite its controversies, The Jerry Springer Show became a ratings gun and was presented by him for no less than 27 years. A loosely based musical, Jerry Springer: The Opera, made waves in the UK and won several theater awards. The program ended in 2018. After that, Springer made three more seasons of the television program Judge Jerry.

A Special Life Story

Jerry Springer was born in 1944 in London’s Highgate tube station. His parents, Jewish refugees from Germany, took shelter there from a German bombing raid. In 1949 the family left London and the young Springer emigrated to New York. In the 1960s he studied political science at universities in New Orleans and Chicago. In his student days, he was heard for the first time as a commentator on the radio. After a brief career as a campaign aide to Robert F. (Bobby) Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968, Springer entered politics himself.

That went with ups and downs. In 1974, for example, he was forced to resign from the Cincinnati City Council after the local newspaper revealed that Springer had visited two prostitutes. A year later, however, he was re-elected as a municipal councilor and in 1977 he became mayor. He then took up his journalism career: in the early 1980s he became a reporter and newsreader for a local NBC station. The presenter was last seen on television last year when he participated in the American version of the program The Masked Singer.

Remembering Jerry Springer’s Controversial Career

Jerry Springer will always be remembered as one of the most controversial figures in American history. He brought an element of excitement and unpredictability to talk shows, with his guests free to express themselves openly, but also leading to tension and aggression. His legacy will continue to attract attention and debate, with both his supporters and critics remembering him for his lively and often outrageous style. The world has lost an unforgettable figure in the entertainment industry.