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Gerald Norman Springer (February 13, 1944 – April 27, 2023) was an American broadcaster, journalist, actor, producer, lawyer, and politician. Born in London during World War II to German Jewish refugees escaping the Holocaust, Springer was raised in Queens, New York City. He attended Northwestern University School of Law, qualified as a lawyer, and first became actively involved in politics working for the campaign of Robert Kennedy in 1968.
A Cincinnati City Council member, Springer served as the 56th Mayor of Cincinnati from 1977 to 1978. He then worked as a local news anchor in Cincinnati where he won ten Regional Emmy Awards for commentary. Springer was best known for hosting the controversial tabloid talk show Jerry Springer from 1991 to 2018. He was also the host of America's Got Talent from 2007 to 2008, and of the courtroom show Judge Jerry from 2019 to 2022. Off television, he also hosted The Jerry Springer Podcast from 2015 to 2022. He was noted as a pioneer in the emergence of "trash TV"; his eponymous show was a "commercial smash and certifiable cultural phenomenon" in the 1990s. One year after he retired from the television show, Springer died of pancreatic cancer on April 27, 2023 at the age of 79.