Biography for
Jerry Springer More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

13 February 1944, London, England, UK

Birth Name

Gerald Norman Springer

Nickname

Sultan of Salaciousness

Height

6' (1.83 m)

Spouse

Micki Velton

(16 June 1973 - present) (separated) 1 child

Trade Mark

Always closes his televison show with the phrase "Until next time, take care of yourself, and each other."

Known for having a variety of unconventional guests with bizarre stories

Trivia

Talk show host

Used to be the Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio.

His nationally televised talk show is well known for guests fighting on stage and shouting foul language, as well as having strippers and exotic dancers performing on various episodes.

Attended Northwestern University School of Law.

Daughter Katie attended Barat College, from where she graduated in May 2001.

"The Jerry Springer Show" (1991) debuts. It was developed by Cincinnati's WLWT-TV to replace its landmark "Donahue" (1970) (Phil Donahue and Springer both worked for WLWT-TV at the time). Springer was eventually forced to revamp its serious format in an attempt to save the show from being dropped by syndicators due to poor ratings. The rest, as they say, is history. [20 September 1991]

A self-described "country singer-songwriter," he opens for Billy Ray Cyrus whenever scheduling allows, and has even performed at actor Johnny Depp's notorious club, the Viper Room.

Born in a London Underground station after his family fled the Holocaust. The family - mom Margot, dad Richard, and sister Evelyn - moved to Queens, New York in 1949 when Jerry was 5.

Cincinnati Magazine voted him TV's "Best Anchor" five years in a row.

Daughter Katie (born 1976) was born legally blind, deaf in one ear and without nasal passages.

Has established a scholarship fund at the Keliman School (Chicago, IL) that serves inner-city youth.

Holds a BA in Political Science from Tulane University (New Orleans, LA), and a JD from Northwestern University (Chicago, IL).

Ran for Governor of Ohio in 1982.

Spearheaded the effort to lower the voting age from 21 to 18, and testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of ratification of what became the 26th Amendment to the Constitution.

Vice President of the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Was a Boy Scout.

Was a campaign aide to Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's campaign. [1968]

Was elected mayor of Cincinnati in 1977, receiving the largest plurality in history.

Won a seat on Cincinnati's Council-at-Large in 1971, but resigned in 1974 after police - raiding a Fort Wright, KY massage parlor - found a check he had written to a "massuse" for her services. Coming clean at a press conference, his honesty worked, and he won back his seat in 1975.

Did a cameo in Brad Paisley's video "I'm Gonna Miss Her."

Won 10 local Emmys for his nightly news and political commentaries during his stint at Cincinnati's WLWT-TV.

The sons of guest Nancy Campbell-Panitz, who was murdered by her ex-husband after the couple appeared on a "Springer" episode with his girlfriend, filed suit in Sarasota County (FL) Court against Springer, his producers and his distributor, USA Studios, claiming Springer created "a mood that led to murder." [10 July 2002]

Has a house in Lido Key, Sarasota, Florida that he stays at when the show is on hiatus.

"Jerry Springer -- The Opera", performed at the Royal National Theatre, Lyttelton and Cambridge Theatre, was awarded the 2004 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best New Musical of 2003.

His talk show turned musical, Jerry Springer - The Opera performed at the Royal National Theatre: Lyttelton and later at the Cambridge Theatre, was awarded the 2003 London Critics Circle Award for Best Musical.

His inspired musical, Jerry Springer --The Opera performed at the Royal National: Lyttelton and late at Cambridge Theatre, was awarded the Carlton Television Best Musical Award at the 2003 London Evening Standard Theatre Awards.

"Jerry Springer - The Opera" won the 2004 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical.

Helped Stuart Lee and Richard Thomas gain the rights to produce the Jerry Springer Opera while in development stage, when Studios USA threatened legal action for violation of the copyright laws.

Born on exactly the same day as Stockard Channing.

There is a ventriloquist dummy who can be seen in the audience during the show behind Jerry when he is in the crowd. The dummy represents the "Dummies" who watch the show and are in the audience.

Winner, 2008 Fox Reality Channel Really Award for "Favorite Host" for his appearance in "America's Got Talent" (2006).

Growing up, he was a lifelong fan of Buddy Ebsen, having watched most of his shows.

Is a grandfather. His daughter Katie has a 1-year-old baby boy.

Was one of the "10 Most Fascinating People" in 1998.

Personal Quotes

I would never watch my show. I'm not interested in it.

On running for Senate - "I would love to have done it. But I have to have seperation from the TV show. Research showed I could win, but people would want the show to be over before the campaign. It's hard to think about Iraq in the evening when I'm dancing with transvestities in the afternoon."

If a wrestler could be governor, I could be president!

(What's changed over the new millenium): "I've never been older... "

Salary

"The Jerry Springer Show" (1991)

$3,500,000/year (2007)