Legendary talk show host and Cincinnati icon

When I did the news, I did the news. In other words, I didn't slant it, you know, because I'd like to think I'm, I'm, I'm never being rude. I'm never, I'm never bashing the other side. There's um none of this is personal. Uh I got to tell you some of the favorite years of my life have been, you know, when I was here doing the news *** W L W T special remembering Jerry Springer, *** legendary Cincinnati politician W L W T news anchor and showman. He was one of the most recognizable personalities around the world. Brilliant, funny and compassionate. Jerry Springer lived *** life. Most people can only dream about. Of course, Cincinnati and W L W T were very much *** part of the Springer legacy. Hello, everyone. I'm Curtis Fuller. We lost our friend and colleague, Jerry Springer. Suddenly on April 27th, he was 79 years old. He died *** few months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It's been said that talent hits *** target. No one else can hit, genius hits *** target. No one else can see *** look back now at the genius and legacy of Jerry Springer. Ok. Bear with me. This will be *** little tough, his raw honesty and humility were gifts that made him *** beloved figure from politician to news anchor and commentator to national talk show host. I was determined to have, you know, that I was more than *** check and *** hooker on *** one night stand. Gerald Norman Springer, born in 1944 in *** London underground railroad station. His parents were German Jews who fled to England during the Holocaust in which other relatives were killed. His family came to the United States after college in the late 1960 s, Jerry made his way to Cincinnati and worked at *** law firm. He also always had *** love for politics. He became *** city council member, but his political career came to an abrupt end. To be honest, I thought about ending it all crossed my mind, but *** more reasonable alternative seemed to be, hey, how about just leaving town, running away, starting life over someplace else? But Jerry did not run away from Cincinnati. He came back, was re elected to council, became mayor and then transitioned into media. His newscast on WLWT TV dominated the ratings for 10 years. His signature commentary became part of the Springer legend. I can't possibly have given enough back, which is part of the reason I have been, excuse me so sad this week. Why? It's so hard to say goodbye? Of course, an entire generation will only know Jerry Springer from his outrageous talk show that even he admitted was not his best work, but it surely was his most lucrative. Oh, I think it's the stupidest show on television. I mean, I've said that it's fun. You know, it shouldn't be taken seriously. So, no, I, I, I know what it is. It's just, it's crazy. It's outrageous. It's hard to sum up in *** few words, the full life of Jerry Springer, he had an amazing ability to connect with practically everyone. You know how you always end your broadcast, take care of yourself and each other. Yeah, it's *** wonderful thought. All right. Certainly the right and decent way to live. But you see, I didn't make it up. You did. God bless you and goodbye. Jerry's authenticity is really what made everyone love him. Mike DTI and Sheri Paleo are here now to share *** few stories about his amazing popularity. When Jerry visited the W L W T studio *** few weeks before his death, he said he felt like he was coming home at the time. Of course, we had no idea. It would be the last time we would see him. He said his years at channel five were some of the best years of his life. And even though he was *** New Yorker and *** diehard Yankees fan, this city loved him and he loved Cincinnati. Well, I think first of all, I think authenticity is everything. And I've always found that if you just go to bed, whatever your wars are, if you stay yourself, that translates to the viewer, many people have also shared stories with us about Jerry's loyalty. Despite all of his success, Jerry maintained lifelong friendships with many people right here in Greater Cincinnati W L W T News Five. John London has known Jerry for more than 40 years, worked alongside him here at channel five. He talked with others who share some memorable Jerry moments. The memories leap from *** table of photographs. He loves singing and he sounded good to himself. And from the mouths of three who knew Jerry Springer well, and trying to get him to listen to me was frustrating as hell because he always wanted to tell *** joke about something, Tim Burke, Alicia Reese and J Galvin. He never abandoned me as *** friend even though I tricked him into the zip line because I wanted to ride the zip line. They possess decades worth of Springer recollections without him. Now the stories pour forth like fine wine. He told me *** trick about the bowling alleys too. Call them and say you want *** page Alicia Reece. And I said, what the mentor with the then unknown candidate about name recognition, what he was writing. He's like Jerry Springer, Jerry Springer, you have *** call. So I said, so I used it in my first campaign. Springer didn't try to be the catalyst for so many memories just turned out that way. Well, my dad *** few years ago was in the Alzheimer's Center and Jerry flew across the country. Former mayor Charlie Lukin, recalling the Springer effect, former mayor and one time congressman Tom Lukin, they're on the left. There's no record of *** fly on the wall. And when he walked in my bedroom, my dad perked up and started talking like he hadn't for *** year. And I was like, dad, why don't you do that for me? But that's the way this guy was the word fun attached to Springer like Superglue. This is because he became *** Horley Rider. He never seemed to let his serious side negate his playful side, the live remote interview dead Mike trick. If Al Shadel Cotti asked *** question, that was too tough. All of *** sudden, Jerry's answers were of all the springs from the interview we did with him two months before he died. This was my second favorite. You know, after the news, we go down on Second Street or Mount Adams. And I remember getting up and singing with the menus with the, the local bars there and, and it was just, it was just such *** good and we were, we were young, you know, it was *** wonderful, wonderful time in life. Wonderful, has taken up residency in the minds of Rees Burke and Galvin when they reminisce now about their departed Amigo, he almost got us evicted from an apartment at one point as mayor, he raised money to save Union Terminal by cutting *** record. He rehearsed that for hours with my wife in our apartment. And totally ticked off the land later. I said to him one day, why don't we go to Cuba? Folk music was *** life long springer passion. He sought it out wherever he went. Let's go to Cuba and see who their folk singers are of today. The Springer Show did not air there. No one knew him. We'd say, dude, you're like us now. Just walk down the street. Nobody knows who you are on the mat. The sea wall in Havana full throated Springer is singing this song. He drew *** crowd. Earth was his stage at the wheel of his boat in Florida or zip lining in Sturgis, South Dakota. And I said to this woman who was bringing people up, I said, if she knew it's Jerry Springer, they all knew they were all up there shooting pictures and talking to him and he's preoccupied and I said he didn't want to do it. So you got to rig him up fast and then push him *** responsible zip line. It would say you gotta sign this release. You gotta, you know, it says here I might die but you don't hold us around tables full of memories. This Spring, the Springer stories magnify an importance. I think he lived every day to the fullest. And, um, I think that's, you know, why, when he walks everywhere he goes he's *** magnet. People are just drawn to him. Looking back on that late winter interview. Do I have to pay for the parking? Yes. With no inkling of its hidden finality. These words stand out as my favorite. I always tell young people when I speak to them, you know, when they're looking for careers, you've got to love your Mondays as much as your Fridays. Because if you just, you know, if you dread the idea, oh, I gotta go to work tomorrow. Uh it's just not gonna be there, but if you can't wait to get in, it's gonna be exciting. It's gonna be fun and particularly with the news, you never know what's gonna happen. It's never boring. And uh yeah, I, I, I, I just loved it all. Isn't that wild? Just *** trip down memory lane right there. You know John London and others who work with Jerry here at W L W T. They have many stories about the man behind the anchor desk and Ashley Kirkland got *** few inside stories from one person who knew Jerry as well as anyone. Well, from former colleagues to friends and public officials, the stories about Jerry Springer are endless. I got *** chance to actually sit down with now retired W L W T sports director, George Vogel who worked with Jerry in the eighties and nineties George says Jerry was *** great leader in the newsroom and serious about the work. But he also says Jerry always made things fun. He was just such *** magnetic personality and such *** force in the newsroom. And I think he had an impact on everybody that worked with him, Cincinnati with you who taught me more about life and caring and forgiving and also most importantly giving. Now he worked very hard. Jerry was very serious about what he was doing here. He did the commentary every night and then evolved into him anchoring the news cast. This is News Five with Jerry Springer and he put in *** lot of time commentaries. It was so funny. He would come in with *** blank legal pad, *** long yellow legal pad and start jotting ideas for commentaries. Then he'd walk around the newsroom and talk to people like, what do you think of this? What's this topic do to you? What's this every day? Five days *** week? Him coming up with *** different one and it was something most of the city, if not all the city looked forward to. At 11 o'clock, we would end our newscast with Jerry Springer's commentary and it was definitely must see TV. There was not *** person in the newsroom or in the entire building that he didn't know. He, he would treat this person as well as his co anchor. It didn't matter to him. He, he made you feel important. I'll tell you this when I was uh first becoming *** sports reporter. They had Dream Week in baseball. The Reds. No, that's not Johnny bench. That's Springer. Jerry Springer. So they send Jerry down to do this and they send me to go down and report on it. So I got followed Jerry around at this uh dream camp baseball, Dream week and he was as he was pretty darn good too. I thought, ok, Springer is not going to be very good at baseball. I was *** baseball player. He shocked me. Good hitter. Good fielder played second base scrappy as all get out and competitive. And he was so mad because one of the former major league pitchers, they had had this big game at the end of the week and this former major league pitcher struck Jerry out on three pitches and he was so mad. He came back saying words, I'd never heard Jerry say before. He was so mad about that and we had so much fun down there. It was great. This whole week was exactly what it's called *** dream. I don't know anyone that says I had *** bad experience dealing with Jerry Springer that he took the time or he made you feel like someone that he had always known. And again, it didn't matter if it was me just some little wet behind the ears, sports reporter, but he would treat everybody, you know, the way he wanted to be treated. And that, that's the mark of *** great man. You saw Jerry Balance having *** little fun with the important role of being the number one news anchor in Cincinnati. Here's *** look back at one of his most memorable Emmy Award winning stories for one week. I had to live on the streets of Cincinnati and I wasn't allowed to go home. I had to survive on the street and I always had one camera person with me. So I had to eat. I remember standing in front of the Cincinnati Enquirer at lunch time begging for money. Here in Santa Cruz, you will see no such scenes of mass starvation of death and despair. The likes of which seemed unimaginable until we saw it last year in East Africa. No, you will see no such scenes here. But that's exactly the point with work. We may never have to. Jerry Springer traveled to many parts of the world when he was *** news anchor at W L W T. He took pride in telling stories that were raw, emotional and engaging and maybe the best example of Jerry's storytelling happened right here at home. It was *** six part Emmy Award winning report in the early nineties on the homeless crisis in Cincinnati. He and photojournalist Robert Busby lived on the streets for several days to not only tell the story but to also experience that story first hand Tuesday afternoon playoffs in the Park, Mount Adams. The homeless aren't about to talk to people in suits and ties, carrying cameras. It's another world to get the story. I have to cross into theirs. I need *** disguise. Makeup artist. Kelly Yurko weaves *** beard around my face. He adds bags around my eyes. I'm not tired but I look at, I don *** scruffy jacket and head down the hill with photographer Rob Busby and staffer, Jim Connolly. I have *** sleeping bag and *** few dollars. Good grief. What am I doing? Where will I sleep? Two hours later, I'm at the drop in center on 12th Street. I sign in under the alias of Charlie Silvera. Then sit down to *** bowl of soup. It's the kind of soup that you don't want to ask what's in it. I strike up *** conversation with the guy down the table from me. He says he can't see. Rob turns on the camera. You gonna, what, er, can you carry me to the hospital? Oh, you're not feeling well, what's wrong with you? I got sugar. I get you. How long have you not seen? I mean, just today it came on or no. Come on. Where are you from? And you don't see well at all, do you? I guess he has diabetes. I'm starting to see that virtually everyone I meet has some kind of *** problem. There are some folks who have *** little bit harder time and I think it's because they're struggling with one of many problems. They may have *** problem with alcohol or substance abuse. I asked when they shut the doors and they say 11 PM, the TV is on in the rec center and people are watching the news. Someone says, where's Springer? I can't believe my ears. I'm assigned Mac number 1 15 in the sleeping room, wall to wall mats, three by 61 next to another. No blankets. It's *** place to sleep, but I don't body to body, belly to belly, leaning against lost souls, foul smell. Someone throws up and nobody's around my middle class sensibilities. Tell me that tomorrow night, I'll find some place else. The folks who run this place are really nice but this is *** shelter, not *** home. When the streets are home, the futility seems to feed on itself. I'm wondering how in God's name can these people get it all together? Oliver Wendell Holmes said, beware how you take away hope from any human being here in Cincinnati in the last 10 years, we've torn down 1000 units of low income housing. We're taking away the hope. You know, folks in Cincinnati still talk about Jerry's homeless stories. His colleague, Robert busby told me one reason the project was so successful was because Jerry had very good instincts as *** legitimate journalist. Now, Jerry's love for taking the stage and singing is almost as legendary as his commentary. Here's just one moment when the beach boys came to town and added another member of the group to it, the mass good. He had the moves and everything going on there. And you know, some of you might also remember when Jerry performed with the Hall of Fame rock band, the Eagles. Jerry leaves us with so many wonderful memories. One Cincinnati store is actually helping keep Jerry Springer's memory alive for *** great cause too. And it pays respect to his signature sign off, take care of yourself and each other since he shirts is selling *** collection of apparel including this shirt. *** portion of the proceeds will benefit tender mercies which serves homeless adults with mental illness. Jerry Springer will be remembered for *** lot of things but his nightly commentaries were simply priceless. It seems fitting that we share *** moment of some of his words of wisdom. I'm talking about teaching in our schools from the very first grade. The value of every human being to care not just about ourselves but each other to never hit another human being, to never ever touch *** gun or make unkind comments about another person's race or religion to work hard and be the best you can be, but never forget to do whatever you can for someone else as well. And I know this ought to be taught in our churches and synagogues. But many of these kids don't go and it ought to be taught by their parents, but it's not. So the schools from grade one have to start doing it and our political and community leaders have to start doing it. Our entertainers have to join the battle. Indeed, we all have to start singing the same tune. Respecting every human being. Indeed, we got to start teaching that in our schools. And it's more than just putting prayer back in the classroom. It's teaching values because if we don't, they won't have *** prayer. Cincinnati will have the chance to say goodbye to Jerry Springer. *** public celebration of his life is scheduled for Friday, June nine at noon at Memorial Hall. It is free, but you must have *** ticket details on how to register to attend will be on our website W W dot com. And finally, today, from humble beginnings, Jerry understood that in order to make it in this world, you have to work hard and treat people with kindness. And when you stumble, you have to get back up and press on one of Jerry's closest friends said he's irreplaceable and his loss hurts immensely. But memories of his intellect, heart and humor will live on the words to *** song by one of Jerry's favorite artists, Linda Ronstadt might be the best way to end this program. The song says, we never know where life will take us. I know it's just *** ride on the wheel and we never know when death will shake us and we wonder how it will feel. So. Goodbye, my friend, I'm Curtis Fuller. Have *** nice day.

Remembering Jerry Springer: Legendary talk show host and Cincinnati icon

Updated: 9:22 PM EDT May 12, 2023

For those that knew him, Jerry Springer was one of a kind.Springer died peacefully on April 27 at his home in suburban Chicago at age 79 after a bout with cancer. Springer's raw honesty and humility made him a beloved figure from politician, to news anchor and commentator, to national talk show host.WLWT is honoring Springer's life and legacy, watch in the video player above Gerald Norman Springer was born in 1944 in a London underground railway station. His parents were German Jews who fled to England during the Holocaust, in which other relatives were killed.His family came to the United States when Springer was young.After college, in the late 1960s, he made his way to Cincinnati and worked at a law firm.Springer also always had a love for politics. He became a city councilman, but his political career came to an abrupt end with a criminal investigation where Springer paid a prostitute with a personal check. "To be honest, the thought about ending it all crossed my mind, but a more reasonable alternative seemed to be, hey, how about just leaving town, running away, starting life over someplace else," Springer said during a newscast.But Springer didn't run away from Cincinnati, he came back, was reelected to council, became mayor and then transitioned into media. Springer became the voice of Cincinnati news, his newscasts dominated the ratings for 10 years and his signature commentary became part of the Springer legend. "I can't possibly have given enough back, which is part of the reason I have been, excuse me, so sad this week. Why? It's so hard to say goodbye," Springer said during his last newscast.Of course, an entire generation will only know Springer from his outrageous talk show, that even he admitted was not his best work, but it surely was his most lucrative. It's hard to sum up in a few words the full life of Jerry Springer, but his last broadcast on WLWT says it all."You know how you always end your broadcast with 'take care of yourself and each other?' Yeah, it's a wonderful thought, alright. Certainly, the right and decent way to live. But you see, I didn't make it up. You did. God bless you and goodbye," Springer ended his last newscast.

CINCINNATI —

For those that knew him, Jerry Springer was one of a kind.

Springer died peacefully on April 27 at his home in suburban Chicago at age 79 after a bout with cancer.

Springer's raw honesty and humility made him a beloved figure from politician, to news anchor and commentator, to national talk show host.

WLWT is honoring Springer's life and legacy, watch in the video player above

Gerald Norman Springer was born in 1944 in a London underground railway station. His parents were German Jews who fled to England during the Holocaust, in which other relatives were killed.

His family came to the United States when Springer was young.

After college, in the late 1960s, he made his way to Cincinnati and worked at a law firm.

Springer also always had a love for politics. He became a city councilman, but his political career came to an abrupt end with a criminal investigation where Springer paid a prostitute with a personal check.

"To be honest, the thought about ending it all crossed my mind, but a more reasonable alternative seemed to be, hey, how about just leaving town, running away, starting life over someplace else," Springer said during a newscast.

But Springer didn't run away from Cincinnati, he came back, was reelected to council, became mayor and then transitioned into media. Springer became the voice of Cincinnati news, his newscasts dominated the ratings for 10 years and his signature commentary became part of the Springer legend.

"I can't possibly have given enough back, which is part of the reason I have been, excuse me, so sad this week. Why? It's so hard to say goodbye," Springer said during his last newscast.

Of course, an entire generation will only know Springer from his outrageous talk show, that even he admitted was not his best work, but it surely was his most lucrative.

It's hard to sum up in a few words the full life of Jerry Springer, but his last broadcast on WLWT says it all.

"You know how you always end your broadcast with 'take care of yourself and each other?' Yeah, it's a wonderful thought, alright. Certainly, the right and decent way to live. But you see, I didn't make it up. You did. God bless you and goodbye," Springer ended his last newscast.