Jerry Springer was the longtime host of the controversial talk show “Jerry Springer.”
- Died: April 27, 2023 (Who else died on April 27?)
- Details of death: Died at his home in the Chicago area at the age of 79.
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Jerry Springer’s legacy
Before he became one of the most controversial talk show hosts of all time, Springer pursued a very different career: politics. The child of refugees who escaped the Holocaust, Springer was born in England and later moved to the U.S. with his family as a boy. After earning a law degree at Northwestern University, he jumped into politics as a presidential campaign advisor for Senator Robert F. Kennedy (1925–1968). Following his own unsuccessful run for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1970, he was elected to the Cincinnati City Council, and he served as the city’s mayor from 1977 to 1978. Springer later failed to secure the Democratic nomination to run for governor of Ohio in 1982.
With his career as a politician at a standstill, Springer focused on journalism, reporting for Cincinnati’s WLWT. He won several local Emmy Awards, and he found his way into the career that would make him famous. In 1991, he launched “Jerry Springer,” a talk show in which Springer and notable guests discussed current political topics. However, the show made little headway in the ratings, and in 1994, he and his producer came up with a new direction that completely changed its fortunes.
Ratings skyrocketed when “Jerry Springer” began focusing on people and stories that seemed ripped from the pages of tabloid magazines. Audiences loved the chaotic nature of the show, with frequent fights between guests, colorful language, and near-nudity. Considered a guilty pleasure by some and must-see TV by others, “Jerry Springer” was deemed “the worst TV show of all time” by TV Guide. Springer leaned into the criticism and began introducing the show with those very same words. “Jerry Springer” became a cultural phenomenon, spawning a wave of other tabloid talk shows and influencing the direction of reality TV.
While “Jerry Springer” went off the air in 2018, Springer’s TV career continued. In 2019, he debuted “Judge Jerry,” a courtroom show that ran through 2022. Springer also hosted “The Jerry Springer Podcast” and the political talk radio show “Springer on the Radio.” As an actor, Springer appeared in TV shows like “Married… With Children,” “Roseanne,” and “The X-Files,” as well as in such movies as “Ringmaster” and “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.” He also participated in reality shows, including “Dancing with the Stars,” “Who Do You Think You Are?” and “The Masked Singer,” and hosted “America’s Got Talent” for two seasons.
Springer on “Jerry Springer”
“I like the idea that there’s no censorship, because it’s consistent with my views that we live in a free society and people ought to be able to express their views, even if they’re repugnant to us. And I like the fact that it’s just regular people. It’s not celebrities. If wealthy, powerful people go on television and talk about their dysfunctions, we love them. We can’t buy their books and magazines fast enough. We made a whole industry on the dysfunction of famous people, and no one calls that trash.” —from a 2008 interview for the A.V. Club
Tributes to Jerry Springer
Full obituary: The New York Times
