Jerry Springer died of cancer at age 79, TMZ reported Thursday.
A former politician, he was a kind, intelligent person with a good sense of humor who tried to find some level of meaning even as his controversial syndicated show goaded men and women into ridiculous fights as the audience yelled “Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!” He was a man of many layers.
I first met him in 2016 at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre where Springer was hosting “America’s Got Talent.” Three years later, I got to eat lunch with him at Manuel’s Tavern and hosted a talk with him for The Atlanta Press Club.” Here is my intro:
Here is an interview I did with him two years before that printed in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 16 years ago:
Jerry Springer is a master of self-deprecation.
“I have no talent,” he declared, sipping Diet Coke at the Four Seasons hotel in Midtown last week before a speech at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University. “I can’t act. I can’t sing. I can’t dance. I’m the typical schlub.”
Sure, the former mayor of Cincinnati finished fifth on “Dancing With the Stars” last year, but he said he rode that show on his bumbling charm, not his skills.
Still, he’s no slouch.
The circus ringmaster of “The Jerry Springer Show” and former liberal radio talk show host would rather discuss the disintegration of the middle class, the Iraq war and national health care than Heather Mills and Joey Fatone. Yet he dabbles in pop culture because he’s part of it.
Q: How has your appearance on “Dancing With the Stars” helped you?
A: It’s kind of mainstreamed me. I have been on television for 30 years. But this is the first time I was truly myself. I’m always playing a crazy talk show host or news anchor or mayor. I didn’t understand the big reaction, but maybe people didn’t know who I was, that I was just this nice person.
Q: Did you have a game plan going into the show?
A: No. I assumed I’d be gone the first week. I don’t know how to dance. I originally said no, but my daughter Katie talked me into it.
Q: Did you feel you really improved your dancing?
A: Skillwise, I don’t know if there was much improvement. I was doing the same dance every week, just different speeds. I paid the cameraman not to show my feet, just show me making faces, so people wouldn’t notice I was a klutz.
Q: Who do you like in this spring’s edition?
A: I just saw a little bit of the first two episodes. My partner is there. She left me for a younger man. I’m a little bitter. She’s now with Joey Fatone. He’s a real dancer. They could win. So could Laila [Ali.].
Q: Do you think Heather Mills is receiving a public image makeover thanks to the show?
A: Nobody here really knows her [compared to Britain, where she’s widely vilified for her split with Paul McCartney]. Here, she’s starting with a clean slate.
Q: How much dancing have you done since the show ended?
A: Except for my daughter’s wedding, I’ve hung up my shoes.
Q: How did that go?
A: Katie wore this beautiful wedding gown. In the middle of the dance, my daughter looked up at me and said, ‘Dad, they can’t see our feet.’ It was the big dress. It didn’t matter how good or bad we were dancing. I did the show for nothing!
Q: How did you get involved with the new VH1 show “The Springer Hustle”?
A: They’re just following around my crew. I’m staying out of it. You’ll see me walking the hallways.
Q: And why did you choose to do NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” [replacing Regis Philbin, who bowed out because of the travel burden]?
A: It’s something different. I feel close to these nonfamous people because I interview them all the time. We’ve had 35,000 guests [on the “Springer” show] over 16 years.
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