Jerry Springer | Attorney

In the US, Jerry Springer is best known as a television personality. He has hosted the talk show Jerry Springer since 1991, and debuted the Jerry Springer Podcast in 2015. Springer's diverse professional career has also included work as a lawyer, mayor of Cincinnati, newscaster, actor, and musician.

Springer was born in London, England in 1944. At age five he moved with his parents to New York City, where he enrolled in school. Springer attended Tulane University for an undergraduate degree, graduating in 1965 with a major in political science. He continued his academic career at Northwestern University, where he graduated with a J.D. in 1968.

Upon earning his law degree, Springer worked as a partner at the firm of Grinker, Sudman & Springer from 1973-1985. After watching John F. Kennedy on television as a child, Springer became a political campaign advisor to Robert F. Kennedy later in life. Following Kennedy's assassination, he joined Frost Brown Todd, a Cincinnati-based law firm.

In 1970, Springer joined the Congressional race, representing the Democratic Party. Not surprisingly, he lost in the majority Republican district, but earned a respectable 45% of the vote. Springer ran for governor of Ohio in 1982, but failed to win the Democratic party nomination.

Springer's transition to journalism, a role for which he is best known, began as a student at Tulane. Springer hosted a show on the school's radio station, and was subsequently hired as a political reporter for WLWT, Cincinnati's local branch of NBC. He found local fame in that role, earning ten local Emmy Awards and rising to the ranking of Cincinnati's top news anchor.

Springer's self-named television show, which launched in 1991, featured everyday Americans confronting friends and family members on hot topics such as homosexuality, prostitution, hate crimes, and other controversial issues. The sensationalized show included drama in the form of scripted shouting and on-air violence. Following its success in the US, Jerry Springer aired in the UK as Jerry Springer UK.

In addition to his talk show, Springer has hosted numerous popular American television shows. He hosted America's Got Talent on the NBC network for two seasons, and then hosted a local Cincinnati radio talk show called Springer on the Radio. Later, Springer dabbled in the world of beauty pageants, hosting Miss World 2000 and Miss Universe 2008. He has also hosted the live version of popular show The Price is Right.

Springer's radio and reporting careers led to several acting gigs. He played a character on his own talk show in Ringmaster, a movie that provides behind-the-scenes coverage of potential guests on Jerry Springer. Springer also made guest appearances on episodes of The X-Files, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, and Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. He also appeared in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

Other projects that Springer has worked on include recording an album Dr. Talk, which consisted mostly of country music covers. He also briefly appeared as a contestant on the third season of Dancing with the Stars. Springer is the executive producer of The Steve Wilkos Show and delivered a 2008 commencement speech at Northwestern University School of Law.