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Jerry Springer, the former Cincinnati news anchor and mayor who came to preside over the controversial and extremely profitable talk show bearing his name, has died. He was 79.
Springer died peacefully Thursday at his home in the Chicago suburbs after a brief illness.
“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 spokesman for the family, in a statement obtained by Variety.
“He’s irreplaceable and his loss hurts immensely, but memories of his intellect, heart and humor will live on.”
“Jerry Springer Show” began its multi-decade run in 1991 and, in 1998 at the height of its popularity, beat “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in the ratings, drawing 12 million viewers.
Like Geraldo Rivera, Springer signed on for a show that he thought seemed like the logical next step in his journalism career — a show not unlike “Donahue” that would take a serious look at a variety of important issues.
But as with “Geraldo,” the pressure to score big in the ratings pretty quickly meant Springer and his new producer, Richard Dominick made significant changes to make the show stand out and draw a bigger daytime audience as the content of daytime TV in general became much more provocative and coarse.
While the signature moment of “Geraldo” was a brawl between neo-Nazis and Jews that resulted in throwing chairs and a broken nose for Rivera, “Springer” — if not Springer himself — was more interested in sex than in politics. The “Springer” show’s most controversial episode involved a man “married” to a horse.
Springer was elected to the Cincinnati City Council in 1971 but resigned three years later after admitting at a press conference to hiring a prostitute. Springer managed to win back his seat in 1975.
Springer delivered the commencement address at his alma mater, the Northwestern University School of Law, in May 2008.
Many students criticized the choice of speaker, but he drew a standing ovation from about half the audience, and reviews of the speech were generally positive, according to an article on law firm marketing agency website one-400.com.
In his speech he declared: “I am not superior to the people on my show, and you are not superior to the people you will represent. That is not an insult. It is merely an understanding derived from a life spent on the front lines of human interaction.”