About

Jerry Springer was an American television personality and former politician. Mostly known as the host of The Jerry Springer Show, Springer rose to prominence in the 90s as the host of the chaotic, violent and popular talk show.

History

Political Career

Springer's career began in 1980, when he unsuccessfully ran for congress. The following year, he was elected to the Cincinnati City Council; though, resigned after a year when he admitted to hiring a prostitute. He would later win the seat back in 1975.

Two years later, he was elected by the city council to serve as the mayor of Cincinnati. After his time as mayor, in 1982, he attempted to win the Democratic nomination for governor of Ohio. He was unsuccessful in securing the nomination.^[1]

The Jerry Springer Show

On September 30th, 1991, The Jerry Springer Show premiered in the United States. For the first three years of the program, Springer modeled the format of The Phil Donahue Show, acting as a political talk show.

In 1994, the series changed formats, focusing on sensationalized topics that featured violence, sex, hate groups and controversy (clip below). The show's change in format helped grow its audience, receiving more than 6.7 million viewers by 1998. The series also received a spin-off film entitled Ringmaster, which was released on November 26th, 1998 (trailer below).

On July 26th, 2018, the final episode of The Jerry Springer Show aired, after 27 years in syndication and more than 4,000 episodes.^[2] Technically, the show has yet to be canceled, but the CW, the network that has the option to pick up new episodes, has yet to do so.

Judge Jerry

On October 23rd, 2018, the Hollywood Reporter^[3] announced that Springer was in talks to develop a show entitled Judge Jerry. On the show, Springer, a former lawyer, would preside "over small-claims cases a la Judge Judy and numerous other courtroom shows."

While nothing official has been made public, the Reporter states that the show is being "targeted for a potential fall 2019 launch."

Death

On April 27th, 2023, Springer passed away peacefully in his Chicago home at the age of 79.

Fandom

Jerry Springer joined Twitter ^[4] on May 17th, 2011. Within seven years, his account has amassed more than 93,000 followers. His official Facebook ^[5] page has more than 2.6 million likes and followers.

Search Interest

External References