US talk show host Jerry Springer dies at 79

Published April 27th, 2023 - 07:30 GMT
NEW YORK - OCTOBER 11: TV Host Jerry Springer celebrates the taping of "The Jerry Springer Show" 20th anniversary show at Military Island, Times Square on October 11, 2010 in New York City. Michael Loccisano/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Michael loccisano / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Longtime talk show host Jerry Springer died Thursday at his home in suburban Chicago after a brief illness, his family said in a statement. He was 79.
Highlights
Springer was a fixture of daytime TV with his tabloid talk show, known for outrageous arguments, thrown chairs and physical confrontations between sparring couples.

ALBAWABA- Jerry Springer, the former talk show host and politician, has died at the age of 79. 

His publicist confirmed that he passed away at his home in suburban Chicago after a brief illness.

Springer was best known for his talk show, The Jerry Springer Show, which aired from 1991 to 2018. The show often featured guests revealing shocking and sordid details about their personal lives, and fights were not uncommon on the show, with the audience cheering on.

Springer was born in London during World War II and came to New York with his family as a child. He was elected to Cincinnati's city council in the 1970s and served a term as mayor. 

“If government, any government, is to have any positive effect on our lives, which after all, is its purpose — to make life more tolerable — then that government must bear some relationship to how we live,” he said in his mayoral inauguration speech.

He later became a television news anchor and commentator, before hosting his own talk show. Despite initially doubting its success, the show ran for 27 years.

Jene Galvin, a lifelong friend and spokesman for the family, described Springer as "irreplaceable" and said that memories of his intellect, heart, and humor would live on. Many tributes have been paid to Springer, with former Ohio governor and fellow talk show host, John Kasich, calling him a "good and caring man" who loved America. 

The Jerry Springer Show was a controversial and often criticized program, but it became a cultural phenomenon, attracting a large audience and spawning many imitators.

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