Jerry Springer

Jerry Springer (born Gerald Norman Springer February 13, 1944, in London, United Kingdom) is a popular American talk show host that hosts the Jerry Springer Show since 1991. Much of the show is staged for entertainment purposes and will usually degrade into a pushing and shouting match, as well as several instances of censored profanity being issued among the guests. Largely because of this, Jerry Springer during episodes generally interviews the audience directly from the bleachers instead of being on-stage.

He has a Bachelor's Degree in political science from Tulane University and Juris Doctor from Northwestern University Law School.[1] Before becoming a talk show host, Springer was active in politics in Cincinnati, Ohio, and first became a city council member in 1971. A prostitution scandal in 1974 unsaddled him only briefly and the city council elected him as mayor for one year in 1977-78. For a week in 1997, he was briefly a news commentator for a Chicago-area television station before quitting over protests.[2]

In 2000, he admitted in an interview with the Reuters news agency:

> "I would never watch my show. I'm not interested in it." - Jerry Springer[3]

Springer had a radio program on the Air America network in 2005-06 and in the fall of 2006 competed on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. He hosted the popular America's Got Talent for seasons two and three. He also hosts the dating show Baggage on the Game Show Network.

## Jerry Springer The Opera[edit]

Jerry Springer The Opera is a musical originally created in England. It is based on the Jerry Springer show and presents Jesus Christ as a childish, foul-mouthed woman-beater who declares himself to be 'a bit gay'. Christ is introduced to the audience as "the hypocrite son of the fascist tyrant on high." Mary enters the show with the chorus singing "Raped by God." [4] The play has more than 8,000 swear words and 3,000 of those are the F-bomb. The blasphemy of Judeo-Christian values has prompted protests wherever the show is playing.

## References[edit]

1. ↑ http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jerry-springer/bio/156840
2. ↑ Carter, Bill. Springer Quits News Show, Citing Attacks. The New York Times: May 9, 1997
3. ↑ Springer's 'silly' show. BBC News: October 6, 2000
4. ↑ Intolerant Hate Show, Christian.org.uk

## Links[edit]

Slate Article