Jerry Springer's life off-camera has had so many ups and downs, he might well have qualified as a guest on... (Learn more)
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Jerry Springer's life off-camera has had so many ups and downs, he might well have qualified as a guest on his own syndicated talk show. His parents fled Nazi Germany, escaping the Holocaust that claimed other family members, and eventually settled in Queens, New York. Fresh out of Northwestern University Law School, Springer served as a campaign aide to Senator Robert F. Kennedy and, following Kennedy's assassination, joined a law firm in Cincinnati, OH, where he eventually won a seat on the city's Council-at-Large in 1971. Although a blind date led to his 1973 marriage with a Proctor & Gamble administrative aide, something else led him to cross the Ohio River and procure the sexual favors of a prostitute in a Kentucky massage parlor. When vice cops discovered his secret, Springer resigned his position and came clean during a 1974 press conference. His honesty worked overwhelmingly in his favor, and he was elected mayor of Cincinnati in 1977, receiving the largest plurality in the city's history.
Springer stepped down as Mayor in 1981 and, after an unsuccessful bid for governor in the Ohio Democratic primary, joined Cincinnati's WLWT-TV as a political reporter and commentator in 1982. Two years later he graduated to news anchor and managing editor, becoming Cincinnati's number one anchor until he relinquished his post in January 1993. Springer launched his eponymous syndicated talk show from Cincinnati in 1991. The following year, he moved it to Chicago where it has flourished. He signed a contract that guarantees "Jerry Springer Show" junkies their fix through the year 2002.
A concerned humanitarian who has raised millions of dollars for charity, Springer suffered his greatest personal trial at the arrival of his only child, born legally blind, deaf in one ear and without nasal passages. He has also imitated Elvis Presley, recorded a country album and opened for Billy Ray Cyrus, sung rock-and-roll at Johnny Depp's Viper Room and suited up to play goalie for the International Hockey League's Milwaukee Admirals. Additionally, Springer has appeared as himself on episodes of such TV series as "Roseanne" (ABC), "Married ... With Children" (Fox), "Between Brothers" (UPN) and "The X-Files" (Fox).
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