Jerry Springer, a prominent television presenter and former mayor of Cincinnati, passed away on Friday from pancreatic cancer, his longtime agent Linda Shafran told CNN. He was 79.
“Jerry’s ability to connect with people was at the heart of his success in everything he tried whether that was politics, broadcasting or just joking with people on the street who wanted a photo or a word,” Jene Galvin, a lifelong friend and spokesman for the family, said in a statement.
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His talk show for tabloids, “The Jerry Springer Show,” debuted in 1991 and enjoyed enormous syndication success. After more than 4,000 episodes, it came to an end in 2018.
Due to the many absurd guests he invited, Springer and his program were frequently blamed for contributing to the rise of “trash TV.”
Prior to his passing, Springer kept his cancer diagnosis a private matter.