American host Jerry Springer, known for his controversial shows peppered with swear words, vulgarities and physical altercations, died Thursday at the age of 79, several American media reported.
Mr. Springer, who had also entered politics and served as mayor of Cincinnati, died peacefully in Chicago after “a short illness”, indicated the gossip site TMZ, citing a family source.
It would be pancreatic cancer, diagnosed a few months ago, other sources told TMZ.
Launched in September 1991, The Jerry Springer Show who stopped in 2018 after 27 years on the air, had become cult and a symbol of American “trash TV”.
The show was initially a classic talk show, focused on social issues and American political life.
Lawyer and politician, mayor of Cincinnati in the state of Ohio, in the northeastern United States for a year in 1977, Jerry Springer was at work, in a relatively polished style.
But, after a few years, to improve audiences, this son of German Jewish immigrants had radically changed the tone of his program, switching to the quest for the spectacular at all costs.
In the majority of episodes, guests came to talk about their couple or family problems, to expose adultery, deceit and baseness.
Guided by the care of Jerry Springer, the discussion regularly ended in tussles, the protagonists being held back, only occasionally, by security guards.
At the end of the 1990s, the show had the highest daytime ratings, ahead of Oprahthe must-see talk show from presenter Oprah Winfrey.