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April 27, 2023 10:44 am  #1


Jerry Springer Dead at 79

He had his own show called "The Jerry Springer Show" and "Judge Jerry". He was also the mayor of Cincinnati. He was 79 years old.

https://www.tmz.com/2023/04/27/jerry-springer-dead-dies/

 

April 27, 2023 10:51 am  #2


Re: Jerry Springer Dead at 79

Also anchored for a time at WLWT in Cincinnati.

The TMZ article mentions he had been hosting a folk music show on Cincinnati radio up until recently.

 

April 27, 2023 11:13 am  #3


Re: Jerry Springer Dead at 79

This obit from Variety explains how the show evolved (devolved?) from the typical talk program it started as. Apparently, when the ratings tanked, they went out of their way to try and find a solution to attract more eyeballs. And that "answer," for better or worse, has been with us ever since. 

"..the pressure to score big in the ratings pretty quickly meant appealing to the lowest common denominator — Springer and his new producer, Richard Dominick, who’d worked at the Weekly World News, made significant changes to the show in order to garner higher ratings in early 1994 — and “here he was,” wrote Todd VanDerWerff in a June 2014 piece on Springer on the A.V. Club site, “no longer exposing America’s dark underbelly but rolling around in it.”

Some of his successors are still around, most notably one of his former security guys, Steve Wilkos, who has a similar "you've been sleeping with my sister!" style of shlock show that continues to feature some pretty questionable segments of humanity. But as long as people watch, it will be part of the TV landscape. And a lot of it springs from Springer.

 

April 27, 2023 11:32 am  #4


Re: Jerry Springer Dead at 79

MJ Vancouver wrote:

Also anchored for a time at WLWT in Cincinnati.

The TMZ article mentions he had been hosting a folk music show on Cincinnati radio up until recently.

I did not know that he was hosting a folk music show very interesting. Also he hosted other TV shows like America's Got Talent and Baggage on GSN. He was also popular on TV in the UK which I did not know.

     Thread Starter
 

April 27, 2023 12:14 pm  #5


Re: Jerry Springer Dead at 79

In the late 90s, The Jerry Springer Show was pranked or punked on at least one occasion, possibly two. One group was a Punk Rock group, and I recall the other as being a group of young friends/performers from a comedy or performance workshop. The contacted the show by calling the "idea for a show" number which was promo'd during each episode.





 

 

April 27, 2023 1:06 pm  #6


Re: Jerry Springer Dead at 79

Springer could not actually be punked because all his shows were punk setups.
There would be a grain of truth to his guests but that would only be used as a base for a completely fabricated plot. 
Also a studio director would prime the audience on how to behave so even their reactions were rehearsed.
So as long as you watched the showing knowing all that it was just silly entertainment.
 

 

April 27, 2023 2:15 pm  #7


Re: Jerry Springer Dead at 79

Springer was also a great gameshow host.
Baggage was great! I'd love to see new episodes, but I have no idea who would fit into Springer's shoes...




A full episode: (Captures Jerry's humour quite well throughout the program)





 

Last edited by Radiowiz (April 27, 2023 2:32 pm)


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.

 
 

April 28, 2023 10:44 am  #8


Re: Jerry Springer Dead at 79

Does anyone remember Morton Downey Jr? He had a syndicated talk show that was taped at WWOR  which ran for several years in the late 80's. His favourite phrase was "pablum pukers" which was reserved for those who disagreed with his opinions, mostly progressives.

 

May 2, 2023 11:49 am  #9


Re: Jerry Springer Dead at 79

According to one university media history professor who studies this stuff, Springer helped bring that famous "bleep" censorship to the mainstream. And really, without him, would we give a [bleep?]

Apparently, there's quite a history to this on-air censorship thing.

"Using sounds to mask offensive language predates the FCC and dates back to a 1921 radio speech on Newark, New Jersey’s WJZ by vaudeville actress Olga Petrova. Petrova was famous for her outspoken advocacy for feminism and birth control, and station managers worried that she might violate the 1873 Comstock Act, which prohibited the distribution of obscene materials, including information about contraception.

So the radio engineers created a mechanism for masking her words with music from a phonograph when she dared speak her mind – and they ended up needing to use it 
several times."


Jerry Springer and the history of that [bleeping] bleep sound