Jerry Springer, longtime talk show host has died at age 79.
He was formerly the mayor of Cincinnati and a news anchor. But he’s most known as the host of his namesake afternoon TV which featured over-the-top antics like brawling and chair throwing. Once a ratings powerhouse, The Jerry Springer Show ran for 27 seasons in TV syndication. After more than 4,000 episodes, the show ended in 2018
Springer also hosted the NBC variety/competition series America’s Got Talent on NBC for two seasons from 2007-2008. He competed on the third season of Dancing with the Stars with pro-partner Kym Johnson in 2006. He finished in fifth place. And last fall in 2022 he appeared on the FOX competition show, The Masked Singer season 8 as The Beetle.
“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 family spokesperson and friend of Springer’s since 1970, in a statement. “He’s irreplaceable and his loss hurts immensely, but memories of his intellect, heart and humor will live on.”
Springer died peacefully at home in suburban Chicago after a brief illness, the statement said.
According to the Associated Press, Gerald Norman Springer was born Feb. 13, 1944, in a London underground railway station being used as a bomb shelter. His parents, Richard and Margot, were German Jews who fled to England during the Holocaust, in which other relatives were killed in Nazi gas chambers. They arrived in the United States when their son was 5 and settled in the Queens borough of New York City.
Watch all of Springer’s Dancing with the Stars performances with pro partner Kym Johnson
The Masked Singer host Nick Cannon took Springer’s place as host on America’s Got Talent in 2009, the season after he left. Watch Springer’s unmasking.
Watch Springer sing “The Way You Look Tonight” as The Beetle on The Masked Singer.
