Jerry Springer, longtime TV talk show host, dead at 79

CHICAGO (CBS) - Jerry Springer, the famed talk show host whose rowdy show filmed in Chicago for nearly two decades on weekday afternoons, and also briefly served as mayor of Cincinnati, has died at 79. 

His publicist confirmed Springer's death Thursday morning. He's best known for The Jerry Springer Show, which was taped in Chicago from 1991 to 2009 before moving filming to Connecticut until the show ended in 2018.

"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, the statement said. The cause was pancreatic cancer, as CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot reported.

RELATED: That one time when Chicago City Council became 'The Jerry Springer Show'

Born in London in 1944, Springer's family moved to New York when he was 5 years old. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science at Tulane University in 1965, and a law degree from Northwestern University School of Law three years later.

Springer met U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-New York) at a dinner party and worked on Kennedy's presidential campaign.

NBC 5 news contributor and former anchor Art Norman invited Springer to speak to members of the National Association of Black Journalists, Chicago Chapter in the 90s. Norman says Springer talked about his time working with Bobby Kennedy during the Civil Rights Movement, being pressed into service to monitor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and ensure nothing would happen to the Civil Rights leader.

"He was the legal eagle in the field," Norman said.

Springer soon started his own political career, serving on the city council in Cincinnati from 1971 to 1974, when he resigned after admitting to soliciting a prostitute. He won his seat back in 1975, before being elected mayor of the city in 1977, serving until 1978.

Springer made a failed bid for Ohio governor in 1982, before turning to a career in television as a local news anchor at NBC affiliate WLWT-TV, Cincinnati. 

His iconic talk show debuted in 1991.

While the show initially focused on politics, it eventually underwent a complete makeover to a salacious tabloid-style talk show, featuring fights, scantily clad guests, and taboo topics like incest and adultery.

The Jerry Springer Show became a guilty pleasure for millions – and had everyone talking in the 90s and beyond.

"There was a show that Warner Saunders and I walked in on, 'A 500-Pound Hooker Stole My Man,'" Norman said. "I said: 'Wow! That's the title of the show!' The point is it garnered ratings."

Indeed, The Jerry Springer Show's turn to the lurid made it a ratings juggernaut, known for guests throwing chairs at each other during profanity-laced arguments.  

Springer and his show became iconic specifically in Chicago too. Springer show tickets were seemingly a hotter item than sports game tickets among University of Chicago students back in the late 90s – a lottery for Springer show tickets was once even offered to incoming college freshmen during orientation week.

While still hosting his talk show, Springer also was hired as a commentator for NBC 5 in Chicago in 1997, prompting longtime anchors Carol Marin and Ron Magers to resign in protest. 

"Jerry Springer has had a chance for years now on that talk show to do wonderful things – to talk about education, to talk about issues, to talk about politics, to form a book club; you know, sort of, what trees has he planted?" Marin said on WTTW-Channel 11's "Chicago Tonight" program a couple of days before she quit NBC 5. "Jerry Springer made a willful decision. That's fine. He has a First Amendment right to do the kind of show he wants to do. But the crossover is what I object to – and if it's wrong for Ron and me and others to say that that's the wrong thing, and that's the wrong signal to send to our viewers – who are already confused – then I must respectfully disagree."

Marin went on to join CBS 2 as an investigative reporter and later as 10 p.m. anchor for a time, while Magers switched to ABC 7.

Springer made only two commentaries on WMAQ-TV before leaving his position. In his first – without naming Marin, who had quit a few days earlier – he accused her of finding "it necessary this week to use me as a steppingstone to martyrdom." He also called the protests against his appearances on the newscast "elitist snobbery."

"Please understand, we have no journalism in a free society unless we have commentary from all parts of the community; from the poor, the disenfranchised, the left, the right, the outrageous – and yes, the different – not just the endless array of Walter Cronkite wannabes that populate every news program in America so that virtually every news program looks alike," Springer said in the commentary.

The controversy over Springer's appearances on NBC 5 became a top story across local publications and newscasts in Chicago, including on CBS 2.

Speaking to CBS 2's Le Mignot by phone, Marin said she sends her condolences to Springer's family - especially his daughter, whom he loved deeply. Marin also said it was never personal between her and Springer - it was purely a professional difference.

Meanwhile, while Springer defended his talk show as "escapist entertainment," others called it "trash TV" that contributed to a dumbing-down of America. But an expert emphasized the value in Springer's talk show and his professional approach.

"He was the ultimate skilled professional - as a journalist and as a TV talk show host when it came to making people feel comfortable and getting people to open up to him," said Patty Lamberti, the director of Multimedia Journalism at Loyola University Chicago. "Jerry Springer was great, because he introduced us to parts of society that the media often ignores."

Tom Schnecke is the Vice President of Operations and Engineering at CBS 2 Chicago. Schnecke was not only one of the engineers who helped to build the first Jerry Springer set, but he also eventually became the studio manager for the show.

"Jerry Springer off-air was a gracious gentle man who treated his crew like royalty," Schnecke said.

Schnecke says Springer's perspective was strongly influenced by his family's experience with the Holocaust.

"That really framed him for kind of what he did in life, and you know, not taking things to seriously," Schnecke said.

Schnecke says his time on the show was a unique experience.

"No two minutes were the same, much less hours or days," Schnecke said. "To make something look that spontaneous took something very, very well put together – and so much planning went into that show. The show had over 30 wireless microphones so that every guest could be mic'd so it could be ready at all times."

The Jerry Springer Show helped director of security Steve Wilkos gain fame of his own.

Starting in 1994, the off-duty Chicago police officer recruited other officers to work as security guards on the show before retiring from the force in 2004. Wilkos went on to host his own talk show out of Chicago starting in 2007.

Springer also hosted a dating game show called Baggage on the Game Show Network starting in 2010, airing for four seasons. 

In the end, from 2019 until 2022, Springer hosted the reality court show Judge Jerry.