A family spokesperson said Jerry Springer had been diagnosed with cancer a few months ago but took a turn for the worse this week, according to TMZ.
They said he was battling a “brief illness” and died peacefully on Thursday morning at his home in the Chicago area.
Springer hosted iconic talk show The Jerry Springer Show for 27 years, with it debuting in 1991.
His series inspired the UK’s The Jeremy Kyle Show, which ran between 2005 and 2019.
Spokesman Jene Galvin said;
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.
He’s irreplaceable and his loss hurts immensely, but memories of his intellect, heart and humor will live on.
Jerry Springer had just stepped down from The Jerry Springer Podcast, after eight years, in December.
Prior to his broadcasting career, which included roles as a political reporter and commentator, he was the mayor of Cincinnati and a political campaign adviser to Robert F Kennedy.
His show was so popular he managed to top Oprah Winfrey’s program in several cities.
The show went off air in 2018 but Springer then created his courtroom show Judge Jerry.
His last TV appearance came on The Masked Singer in the US, when he performed as The Beetle.
Springer was born in February 1944, in Highgate tube station which his parents were using as a bomb shelter.
They arrived in the United States when he was five and settled in Queens.
