Jerry Springer, a longtime presenter of a US talk show whose show became known for its on-air arguments, profanity, and infidelity disclosures, has passed away at the age of 79, according to US media.
After “a brief illness,” Springer, whose program became an international hit and ran for 27 years, passed away quietly at home in Chicago, according to a family representative.
The spokesperson withheld any additional information. According to unnamed sources and cited by TMZ, Springer received a pancreatic cancer diagnosis a few months ago.
When it first debuted in 1991, “The Jerry Springer Show” was just a regular chat program centered on social issues and US politics, hosted by the then-politically inept lawyer and former politician Springer, who for a brief period of time was Cincinnati’s mayor in 1977.
But after a few years, the son of Jewish German immigrants drastically changed things up, concentrating on scandalous and controversial content in an effort to increase viewers.
In the majority of programmes, guests appeared to discuss and expose infidelity and other misdeeds as well as family issues.
Although it is said that Springer attempted to mediate, fights frequently broke out, with guests being restrained by security personnel.
The programme outperformed Oprah in the US daytime television ratings in the late 1990s. It ended officially in 2018.