Famous journalist, television host, and former Mayor of Cincinnati Jerry Springer has died.
Springer was 79 and died peacefully at his Chicago home on Thursday, NBC affiliate WLWT has confirmed. According to a family spokesperson, the journalist had been battling “a brief illness.” TMZ has reported that their sources say Springer was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a few months prior to his passing.
The host’s most famous show — The Jerry Springer Show — ran for 27 years between 1991 and 2018. It became one of the most-watched broadcasts in America by the late ’90s, surpassing The Oprah Winfrey Show. Its sensationalist and controversial nature, covering topics like adultery, homosexuality, prostitution, and hate group membership, among others, was singular for its era. Although Jerry Springer opened up spaces for conversations about taboo topics, the way it framed them was often judgemental or belittling, incentivizing emotional and sometimes violent displays from the guests.
Springer’s last job was as the host to the courtroom show Judge Jerry up until 2022. He also ran a podcast called Jerry Springer Podcast which debuted in 2015, and hosted America’s Got Talent for two seasons in 2007 and 2008.
Before TV, Springer was dedicated to politics, running for Congress in 1970, but failing to be elected. He was Mayor of Cincinnati for a year between 1977 and 1978. His television career began as a political reporter and commentator on WLWT — the NBC affiliate for Cincinnati — eventually becoming the state’s most popular news anchor.
Gerald Norman “Jerry” Springer was born in 1944, in the London Underground station of Highgate, which was serving as a shelter during World War II. His German-Jewish parents fled from Prussia (now Poland).
Springer is survived by his wife Micki Velton — whom he married in 1973 — and their daughter Katie.