FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

Gerald Norman Springer (February 13, 1944 – April 27, 2023) was an American broadcaster, journalist, actor, producer, lawyer, and politician. Born in London, England, during World War II to refugees escaping the Holocaust, Springer was raised in Queens, New York City. He attended Northwestern University School of Law, qualified as a lawyer, and first became actively involved in politics working for the campaign of Robert Kennedy in 1968.

A Cincinnati City Council member, Springer served as the 56th Mayor of Cincinnati from 1977 to 1978. He then worked as a local news anchor in Cincinnati where he won several Regional Emmy Awards for commentary. Springer was best known for hosting the sometimes controversial tabloid talk show Jerry Springer from 1991 to 2018. He also debuted the Jerry Springer Podcast in 2015. From 2007 to 2008, he hosted America’s Got Talent, and from 2019 until 2022, Springer hosted the courtroom show Judge Jerry. He was noted as a pioneer in the emergence of ‘trash TV‘, his eponymous show was a “commercial smash and certifiable cultural phenomenon” in the 1990s.

Springer died at his home near Chicago, Illinois, on April 27, 2023, at the age of 79. A family spokesperson said that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a few months prior to his death.