Who was Jerry Springer? Mayor-turned-host dies at 79- Take a look at weirdest moments from his show

US politician-turned-show host, Jerry Springer died due to a ‘brief illness’ at his Chicago home on Thursday morning. He is survived by his daughter Katie Springer and his older sister, Evelyn. The 79-year-old TV presenter will be remembered for his 90’s American talk show that featured everything from, fights to flying chairs but talks.

Springer hosted one of the longest-running shows in the history of American TV, The Jerry Springer Show, which ran nearly three decades. The show became a symbol of low-brow television over the course of almost 5000 episodes.

Fellow chat show host Ricki Lake led the tributes on social media, "Just waking to the very sad news of the passing of my longtime talk show rival and friend Jerry Springer. A lovely man. May he rest in peace."

Broadcaster Piers Morgan described Springer as a "TV icon and such an intelligent, warm, funny man".

His family and friends described him as “irreplaceable”. They said that he will be remembered for his connection with people at heart.

Jerry Springer: Early life

Gerald Norman Springer, or, Jerry Springer was born in London, England to Holocaust survivors who came from Germany. He was raised in Queens, New York City and attended the Northwestern University School of Law. He qualified as a lawyer, from where he first became actively involved in politics. He worked for the campaign of Robert Kennedy in 1968.

Jerry Springer: A mayor

Springer ran for Congress in 1970 but failed to dethrone Republican Donald D. Clancy. In 1971, he was elected to the Cincinnati City Council but had to resign from the council after admitting to soliciting a prostitute. He then ran for office in 1975 and won by a landslide victory. He was re-elected as mayor of the city in 1977 and 1979.

He was considered a ‘gonzo’ type politician with stunts such as staying a night in jail and commandeering a bus after the city took over bus service. But what made him famous worldwide was his 1991 TV sensational TV show.

Jerry Springer: A TV show host

Many people may not remember this but when Springer started his show in 1991, he focused on US political issues. But eventually, his show took a steep turn in the exact opposite direction and became a hit. It is known that it was deliberately done to boost the ratings of the show. His show was so popular in the late 90s that it even beat Oprah Winfrey’s Show in several cities and topped the charts.

Springer repeatedly defended his show against accusations of being too low-brow.

He told the BBC in 2014: "You could decide only to put well-scrubbed, wealthy people who speak the Queen's English on television and just do that but that wouldn't reflect the whole society."

"If all shows were like mine, that would be wrong. But you can't just have a television that is like Friends, Seinfeld, all these wealthy people, good-looking people and you love it," he added.

"If some wealthy, famous person goes on television and talks about who he or she has been sleeping with, we can't get enough of it. We cheer them. But if it's some person of low income, all of a sudden we say trash."

The show had a fixed template for many years in which guests would come to the show and discuss their family problems which eventually turned into exposed adultery and other transgressions. Springer, then, tries to mediate but suddenly the verbal encounters turn into fistfights.

The audience would regularly chant "Jerry! Jerry!" when tensions became heightened during the episodes.

The Jerry Springer Show: Some of the most bizzare and outrageous moments

1. ‘I Married a Horse’

In a 1998 episode, Springer invited three people who were said to have an ‘interspecies relationship’. A man named Mark from Missouri claimed he had married a pony named Pixel. He insisted his marriage was consensual, “If she didn't like it, she could always leave,” he said.

After telling his weird love story, he also disclosed that he was slowly dying from hepatitis as a result of the sex.

2. ‘I Slept With 251 Men in 10 Hours!’

In 1995, Springer spoke to Annabel Chong, a 22-year-old porn actor who took part in the “world’s biggest gangbang”. Despite the predictable slut-shaming that took place, Chong spoke of the experience as an empowering reversal of gender norms. After some years in the industry, Chong went on to work in software development and left her record behind.

3. ‘Married to Your Dad But Want You Back’

A Montana woman fell in love with a California man, who apparently walked 1,200 miles to be with her (he didn’t have a car). When they broke up, she ended up with his father, who she had a child with – her ex-husband’s younger sister. But regret nagged at the woman so much that she tried to reunite with the son on Springer’s show. He declined.

(With inputs from agencies)

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