Gone too soon. Celebrities are mourning the loss of talk show host Jerry Springer after his death at age 79.
Us Weekly confirmed on Thursday, April 27, that Springer died following a brief illness. “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,” a spokesperson for Springer’s family Jene Galvin told Us. “He’s irreplaceable and his loss hurts immensely, but memories of his intellect, heart and humor will live on.”
Galvin continued: “To remember Jerry, the family asks that in lieu of flowers you consider following his spirit and make a donation or commit to an act of kindness to someone in need or a worthy advocacy organization. As he always said, ‘Take care of yourself, and each other.’”
The U.K. native is best known for his eponymous talk show, which ran for nearly three decades before ending in 2018. The long-running daytime series focused on controversial topics, which led to frequent onscreen fistfights between guests. The show’s bouncer, Steve Wilkos, also found stardom after landing his own talk show in 2007.
In 2019, the former Mayor of Cincinnati returned to daytime TV with his syndicated courtroom show Judge Jerry. The series ran for three seasons before airing its final episode in 2022.
Ahead of his passing, Springer competed as The Beetle during season 8 of Fox’s The Masked Singer. In October 2022, the journalist said it “wasn’t actually a hard decision at all” to join the singing competition.
“Well, I’m semi-retired now. So, my reaction [to being asked to do the show] was, have they ever heard me sing? And who is this anyway? But I thought about it for a couple of days. I don’t think I said yes right away, but I thought about it for a couple of days. And why not? It’s just fun,” he told Entertainment Weekly at the time. “I thought my grandson would get a great kick out of this, as well as the rest of the family as soon as I could tell them — and I told them last night so now they know. But that was it.”
Springer continued: “I’m not trying to build a career or anything, because this would be a career ender, anyway. My dad used to tell me be careful what the last thing you’re going to be remembered for is. So if it’s this appearance, if this is how it ends … But it wasn’t actually a hard decision at all. And then I said I couldn’t think of a reason not to do it. It was just fun. I had the time to do it. And as I said, it was just a couple of days, and everyone was just as nice as could be.”
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