The talk show host and former mayor of Cincinnati, Jerry Springer, has passed away.
His longtime publicist, Linda Shafran, verified that he passed away on Thursday at his home in a Chicago suburb following a brief illness. He had 79 years of age.
His loss is unbearably painful, but memories of his intelligence, compassion, and humor will endure.
Springer was best known for The Jerry Springer Show, in which guests real individuals from across the country divulged shocking, often scandalous details about their lives.
Fights were a common occurrence on the program, with the audience frequently chanting "Jerry, Jerry, Jerry!"
Springer was born in London during World War II and moved to New York as a youth.
In the 1970s, he was elected to the city council of Cincinnati and served as mayor.
Springer was initially skeptical of his chances of success. "I remember when we announced the show in 1991,"
he told the Cincinnati Enquirer, "and I thought, 'Who are we kidding?'" We'll be fortunate to survive 13 weeks!" The program aired for 27 years.