Remembering Jerry Springer: Iconic talk show host dead at 79

Jerry Springer, the former Cincinnati mayor and news anchor whose namesake TV show unleashed strippers, homewreckers and skinheads to brawl and spew obscenities on weekday afternoons, has died. He was 79. A family spokesperson says he died Thursday at home in suburban Chicago. At its peak, “The Jerry Springer Show” was a ratings powerhouse and a U.S. cultural pariah. The show known for chair-throwing and bleep-filled arguments was a favorite American guilty pleasure, at one point topping Oprah Winfrey’s show. It ran for 27 years, ending in 2018. The Jewish immigrants’ son who was born in an underground bomb shelter was active in politics most of his adult life.