How Did Jerry Springer Die? Inside the Controversial Host’s TV Career and What He Hoped to Do Before His Unexpected Death

Legendary talk show host Jerry Springer spent over four decades on television.

After a brief stint as a lawyer in the late 1960s and political ambitions that peaked with him being elected mayor of Cincinnati in 1977, Springer pursued a career in media. He began in 1982 as a political reporter and commentator at NBC’s Cincinnati affiliate, WLWT. Springer spent nearly 10 years at the news station, helping revive their ratings and earning recognition for his commentary work.

In the years following, Springer launched the talk show that would transform his career and make him a household name. The Jerry Springer Show premiered on Sept. 30, 1991, and began as a hard news show before it eventually evolved into a raucous tabloid talk show filled with unfiltered confessions, expletives and frequent fist fights.

Although the show’s reputation was controversial, its ratings success served as “the launching pad for everything else” for Springer — including his role in Broadway’s Chicago and his tenure as a judge on America’s Got Talent, according to Gary Rosen, the show’s former publicist. By the time The Jerry Springer Show ended in 2018, the daytime program had become a cultural phenomenon and Springer was a television icon. He continued his on-air career for four more years before his death at 79 in April 2023 following a “brief illness.”

“He didn’t take himself too seriously. People would come up on the street and say, ‘Jerry, I love your show,’ and he’d go, ‘I’m sorry,’” Rosen told PEOPLE about Springer. “That was Jerry. He was like your uncle. He was the every man. He just had this crazy show.”

Now, the Netflix documentary Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action, which premiered on Jan. 7, is giving viewers a behind-the-scenes look at how the show came to be.

So what happened to Jerry Springer after his show ended? Here’s everything to know about the rest of his TV career and the legacy he left behind.

When did Jerry Springer’s talk show end?

In June 2018, The Jerry Springer Show was canceled after nearly 4,000 episodes and 27 seasons. At the time of its cancellation, Springer’s infamous tabloid talk show had been on the air for nearly three decades since its premiere in September 1991.

Though Springer had called his talk show “stupid” and credited it with “ruining the culture,” there was no denying its popularity. However, the former politician-turned-talk show host attributed the program’s long-running success not to himself but to the guests and their often wild behavior.

“It’s got a niche, and no one else kind of goes in that niche, so I think that’s one of the reasons it’s lasted,” Springer told Today in February 2017. “And the personality of the guests — no one is watching ’cause of me, they’re watching because the stories are crazy and the people are outrageous.”

After The Jerry Springer Show stopped production, pre-taped episodes and reruns were aired on The CW from 2018 until 2021, according to NPR.

What did Jerry Springer do after his talk show ended?

Springer did not retire following the cancellation of The Jerry Springer Show; instead, he returned to daytime television over a year later with Judge Jerry, a 30-minute courtroom TV show.

“I love doing it,” Springer, a former lawyer, told PEOPLE in September 2019 about his new show. “It’s the first grown-up job I’ve had in 30 years.”

Judge Jerry aired for three seasons and more than 300 episodes before being canceled in March 2022. It wasn’t his last television appearance, however.

Later that same year, Springer starred in season 8 of The Masked Singer as the Beetle, going home in episode 5.

“I thought my grandson would get a kick out of this,” Springer told Entertainment Weekly in October 2022 about joining the reality competition. “I couldn’t think of a reason not to do it. It was just fun.”

When did Jerry Springer die?

Springer died at age 79 on April 27, 2023 — just six months after he last appeared on television.

“Jerry’s ability to connect with people was at the heart of his success in everything he tried whether that was politics, broadcasting or just joking with people on the street who wanted a photo or a word,” family friend and spokesman Jene Galvin said in a statement to PEOPLE at the time.

He continued, “He’s irreplaceable and his loss hurts immensely, but memories of his intellect, heart and humor will live on. As he always said, ‘Take care of yourself, and each other.’ ”

Springer, who is survived by his daughter Katie Springer, was laid to rest three days later, on April 30, in a private ceremony held in a suburb of Chicago. The funeral was attended by a small group of friends and family and included traditional Jewish customs.

How did Jerry Springer die?

Springer’s official cause of death was pancreatic cancer, his publicist, Linda Safran, confirmed to PEOPLE. His illness was sudden and brief, according to Springer’s longtime friend and religious leader, Rabbi Sandford Kopnick of The Valley Temple in Cincinnati.

“He hasn’t been sick for a long time,” Rabbi Kopnick told PEOPLE about Springer. “He died of cancer, and he didn’t have cancer for very long.”

Before his illness, Springer told PEOPLE he had no plans to slow down — and hoped to continue working for as long as he could.

“I will be stopping when I’m 104. I want to be able to enjoy my retirement,” Springer said in 2015. “I’m lucky. I don’t need to make a living anymore. I work because it’s enjoyable to do, and people enjoy the show. As long as I’m healthy, I’ll keep doing it. I can’t imagine doing nothing.”

What legacy did Jerry Springer leave behind?

While he was alive, Springer downplayed his impact and the influence that his daytime talk show had on pop culture.

“I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy a comfortable measure of success in my various careers,” he said while delivering the 2008 commencement address at his law school alma mater, Northwestern University, per The New York Times. “But let’s be honest, I’ve been virtually everything you can’t respect: a lawyer, a mayor, a major-market news anchor and a talk-show host. Pray for me. If I get to heaven, we’re all going.”

But amongst his colleagues and his competition, Springer — and his eponymous talk show — were remembered for permanently transforming the television landscape.

“Jerry didn’t change TV, he radicalized it,” Springer’s “friendly rival” Maury Povich told PEOPLE following his death.

Povich added, “Jerry used to say to me, he says, ‘Here’s the thing, Maury. You’re the real deal. And I’m just the deal.’ I said, ‘Jerry, I might be the real deal, but you’re your deal, okay?’ ”

Outside of his television career, Springer was remembered fondly by those closest to him. According to Rosen, the show’s former publicist, Springer wanted his legacy to be as “a good father and grandfather.”

“The rest — the celebrity part — he said is just ego,” Rosen told PEOPLE. “I will remember him [as] a class act, who was a true mensch to his staff, crew and fans from all over the world.”

“Other than my father, Jerry was the most influential man in my life,” Steve Wilkos, the fan-favorite security guard on The Jerry Springer Show, also said in a statement to PEOPLE after Springer’s death. “Everything I have today I owe to Jerry. He was the smartest, most generous, kindest person I’ve ever known. My wife and I are devastated. We will miss him terribly.”

“There was much more to him than The Jerry Springer Show. He was very, very smart,” Springer’s longtime friend and rabbi Sanford Kopnick also told PEOPLE. “He was a remarkable family man, and he was somebody who understood what it means to pay it forward. He always knew his good fortune. He never took it for granted.”