Actors - Jerry Springer

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	Actors - Jerry Springer

Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer (born February 13, 1944 in Hampstead, England, a suburb of London) is a former Democratic mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, who hosted a television program bearing his name, The Jerry Springer Show. He now hosts a talk radio program called Springer on the Radio on Air America Radio

Early years

His parents were Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany. In January 1949, he emigrated to the United States from the United Kingdom with his family on the RMS Queen Mary. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Tulane University in 1965, majoring in political science. He earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Northwestern University in 1968. He then became a campaign aide to Robert Kennedy; after Kennedy's assassination, he joined a Cincinnati law firm.

Political career

In 1970, Springer ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives, but failed to unseat incumbent Republican Donald D. Clancy. Springer was elected to the Cincinnati city council in 1971, at the age of 27. He resigned in 1974 after it was discovered that he had paid a prostitute with a personal check that had been found when police raided a massage parlor. A few days later he made a public apology for this affair; the next year he was reelected to the city council (though he had to run as an independent). A few years later, in 1977, he ran as a Democrat in a successful bid to be mayor of Cincinnati; he was 33.

Politics to journalism

His broadcast career started while he was still Mayor of Cincinnati with album-oriented rock radio station WEBN, noted for its laid-back irreverant format. The station featured commentaries by Springer under the banner "The Springer Memorandum". The popularity of these commentaries helped launch his broadcasting career.

In 1982, having stepped down as mayor, Springer failed in his bid to win the Democratic primary for governor of Ohio coming in third. (Dick Celeste won the primary and general elections). He was hired as a political reporter and commentator on Cincinnati's NBC affiliate, WLWT-TV, which had, at the time, the lowest-rated news program. As commentator, he ended each segment with what became his catch phrase: Take care of yourself, and each other. Within two years he was their number one news anchor, and for five years, the most popular one in the city, garnering seven local Emmy Awards in the process. It was a position he held until January 1993.

The Jerry Springer Show

The Jerry Springer Show debuted in September 1991. It started as a politically-oriented talk show, a longer version of the commentary Springer had gained local fame for giving as reporter and anchor. Guests back then included Oliver North and Jesse Jackson, and the topics included homelessness and gun politics. Low ratings led to the show being picked up by a new producer. The search for higher ratings led Springer towards tawdry and provocative topics, becoming more and more successful as the show seemingly turned very lowbrow. The show was akin to the negative stereotypes of talk shows. It included outrageous situations like partners admitting their adultery to each other, women or men admitting to their partners that they were post-op-transexuals, paternity test shows, numerous features on the Ku Klux Klan and other hate based groups, and, in one of Jerry's most famous episodes, an exposee of shock rock featuring El Duce from The Mentors and an appearance from GWAR, in full costume no less.

Though under some harsh criticism for the show, Jerry always made sure to point out that he had no creative control over the guests. If they were making up their story just to get their fifteen minutes of fame, he and his producers knew nothing about it. Jerry even dedicated a portion of one of his shows to showing outtakes in which he caught a lesbian couple lying about their affair.

Modern political involvement

Outside of his show, Springer remains politically active, particularly in Ohio. He has contributed large sums to the Ohio Democratic Party and he was a member of the Ohio delegation to the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Many Ohio Democrats hoped that he would challenge George Voinovich, who ran for re-election to the United States Senate in 2004. However, Springer decided early on that his contractual obligation to his television program would prevent him from running for elective office in 2004.

Springer had expressed interest in running for office in 2006, but he has stated that should he decide to do so, he would resign from the television show at least 18 months prior to the election date, which would have been in May of 2005. It had been widely surmised that he is either considering a run for the United States Senate against incumbent Republican R. Michael DeWine, who is up for re-election in 2006 or a run for the Ohio governorship. The current governor, Robert A. Taft II, will be barred from running for a third consecutive term in 2006. U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland has announced their candidacies for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2006, and 1998 nominee Lee Fisher has expressed interest in running; Columbus mayor Michael B. Coleman initially decided to run, but withdrew in November 2005 citing family concerns.

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