Jerry Springer, talk show host and politician, dies at 79

Jerry Springer, the longtime talk show host and former Cincinnati mayor, has died. He was 79.

Springer died Thursday at his home in the suburbs of Chicago after “a brief illness,” his family confirmed to the Los Angeles Times. Multiple outlets, including TMZ, have reported that Springer was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a few months ago.

“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.

“He’s irreplaceable and his loss hurts immensely, but memories of his intellect, heart and humor will live on.”

The entertainer was best known for hosting “The Jerry Springer Show,” a hugely popular daytime program that ran for more than 27 years, boosted by sky-high ratings that at one point surpassed even “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

Often considered a cultural pariah, the series that debuted in 1991 welcomed oversharing guests and traded in sensationalized content that embroiled Springer and the show in controversy for years. Brawls, flying chairs and profanity-laced tirades eventually eclipsed each episode’s matter at hand, ultimately resulting in the series eliminating physical violence in 1998.

Springer would usually end each unhinged episode with a more sobering “Final Thought” and a reminder to viewers to “take care of yourselves and each other,” while his lively studio audiences would chant his name and pump their fists in the air.

“You can either have authentic and not let it get out of hand, or you can be inauthentic and let people stay in their seats. That’s the choice,” Springer told The Times in 2010.

“It’s not my cup of tea, but this is not a show that’s aimed at a 66-year-old man. I don’t watch the show. It’s more of a fraternity party sort of thing.”

While emceeing the program, Springer became a de facto babysitter to millennials and 1990s kids outside of school, and also launched the career of Steve Wilkos, the soundstage security guard who later got his own syndicated talk show.

Springer was born in London and emigrated from England to Queens, New York, with his parents and older sister when he was 4 years old. After graduating from Tulane University and the Northwestern University law school, Springer wore many hats as an Army Reserve serviceman, attorney, politician, journalist and broadcaster.

In addition to headlining “The Jerry Springer Show,” he undertook several other multimedia endeavors, including “The Judge Jerry Show,” “Springer on the Radio,” “The Jerry Springer Podcast,” the game show “Baggage” and a ’60s folk-music radio program in Cincinnati — where he was elected mayor in the late 1970s.

Springer launched his political career as an aide to 1968 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy. While working at a law firm in Cincinnati, Springer ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1970, then secured a City Council seat in 1971.

Citing “very personal family considerations,” Springer abruptly and mysteriously resigned from the City Council in 1974. It later came out that Springer was at the center of a prostitution probe, and he admitted to paying sex workers with personal checks.

Springer was quickly reelected to the council in 1975 and served as mayor from 1977 to 1978. He also made an unsuccessful bid for governor of Ohio in 1982.

“A crazy television show is a crazy television show, but I keep that separate from my politics, which I take very seriously,” Springer told the Dallas Morning News in 2017.

“And I think it should be serious and you can be the same person and do both.”

This is a developing story.

Times staff writer Nardine Saad and the Associated Press contributed to this report.