Jerry Springer has died. The famed television host was 79.
A family spokesperson says Jerry was battling a “brief illness.” Our sources tell us it was pancreatic cancer that was diagnosed a few months ago, and this week he took a turn for the worse.
The spokesperson says he died Thursday morning, peacefully at his home in the Chicago area.
Springer led an incredible life. He was born in a London Underground station during the Blitz after his Jewish parents escaped Poland. He then moved to the United States and grew up in Queens, earned a law degree at Northwestern, served in the Army, was mayor of Cincinnati and then went into television journalism before starting his iconic trainwreck tabloid talk show — among myriad other accomplishments and broadcast gigs.