Information AboutJerry Springer |
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EARLY YEARS His parents were Jewish Refugees from Nazi Germany . In January 1949 , he emigrated to the United States from the United Kingdom with his family on the RMS ''Queen Mary'' . He earned a Bachelor Of Arts from Tulane University in 1965 , majoring in political science. He earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Northwestern University in 1968 . He then became a campaign aide to Robert Kennedy ; after Kennedy's assassination, he joined a Cincinnati law firm. POLITICAL CAREER In 1970, Springer ran for a seat in the United States House Of Representatives , but failed to unseat incumbent Republican Donald D. Clancy . Springer was elected to the Cincinnati City Council in 1971, at the age of 27. He resigned in 1974 after it was discovered that he had paid a Prostitute with a personal check that had been found when police raided a massage parlor. A few days later he made a public apology for this affair; the next year he was reelected to the city council (though he had to run as an independent). A few years later, in 1977, he ran as a Democrat in a successful bid to be Mayor of Cincinnati; he was 33. POLITICS TO JOURNALISM His broadcast career started while he was still Mayor of Cincinnati with album-oriented rock radio station WEBN , noted for its laid-back irreverant format. The station featured commentaries by Springer under the banner "The Springer Memorandum". The popularity of these commentaries helped launch his broadcasting career. In s in the process. It was a position he held until January 1993. THE JERRY SPRINGER SHOW '' The Jerry Springer Show '' debuted in September 1991 . It started as a politically-oriented talk show, a longer version of the commentary Springer had gained local fame for giving as reporter and anchor. Guests back then included Oliver North and Jesse Jackson , and the topics included Homelessness and Gun Politics . Low ratings led to the show being picked up by a new producer. The search for higher ratings led Springer towards tawdry and provocative topics, becoming more and more successful as the show seemingly turned very lowbrow. The show was akin to the negative stereotypes of talk shows. It included outrageous situations like partners admitting their adultery to each other, women or men admitting to their partners that they were post-op- Transexuals , paternity test shows, numerous features on the Ku Klux Klan and other Hate Based Groups , and, in one of Jerry's most famous episodes, an exposee of Shock Rock featuring El Duce from The Mentors and an appearance from GWAR , in full costume no less. Though under some harsh criticism for the show, Jerry always made sure to point out that he had no creative control over the guests. If they were making up their story just to get their Fifteen Minutes Of Fame , he and his producers knew nothing about it. Jerry even dedicated a portion of one of his shows to showing outtakes in which he caught a lesbian couple lying about their affair. In 2005 a UK version was shown on ITV1 entitled The Springer Show. It beat its talkshow rival Trisha Goddard 5 to 1 in the ratings. MODERN POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT Outside of his show, Springer remains politically active, particularly in Ohio. He has contributed large sums to the Ohio Democratic Party and he was a member of the Ohio Delegation to the 2004 Democratic National Convention . Many Ohio Democrats hoped that he would challenge George Voinovich , who ran for re-election to the United States Senate in 2004. However, Springer decided early on that his contractual obligation to his television program would prevent him from running for elective office in 2004. Springer had expressed interest in running for office in 2006, but he has stated that should he decide to do so, he would resign from the television show at least 18 months prior to the election date, which would have been in May of 2005. It had been widely surmised that he is either considering a run for the United States Senate against incumbent Republican R. Michael DeWine , who is up for re-election in 2006 or a run for the Ohio governorship. The current governor, Robert A. Taft II , will be barred from running for a third consecutive term in 2006. U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland has announced their candidacies for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2006, and 1998 nominee Lee Fisher has expressed interest in running; Columbus mayor Michael B. Coleman initially decided to run, but withdrew in November 2005 citing family concerns. In 2004, the Ohio Democratic Party named Springer Democrat of the Year for his fund-raising efforts on behalf of the party. LATEST ENDEAVORS IN ENTERTAINMENT On January 17 , 2005 , Springer began hosting Springer On The Radio , a liberal talk show on Cincinnati 's WCKY-AM . He does the show from the Clear Channel studios in Kenwood on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and in Chicago, Illinois (where his television show tapes) on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The show is also broadcast in Cleveland , Detroit , Miami , and San Antonio . On March 24 , 2005 , it was announced that the show will also be carried on Air America Radio beginning April 1 . It is now widely syndicated through Air America. In June the same year Springer traveled to the UK where he hosted a British version of his show entitled ''The Springer Show'' on ITV1 . In an interview he claimed that he had expected British guests to be more sedate, but found them to be even noisier and more argumentative than Americans. Jerry also hosted the British version of the game show Greed on Five , but it was even more of a flop than the American version. 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INSPIRED BY SPRINGER Springer essentially Portrayed himself in the 1998 movie '' Ringmaster '', though his TV host character is named Jerry Farrelly. "Ringmaster" offers a behind-the-scenes look at would-be guests who apply to a Springer-like show. A Musical by Stewart Lee and Richard Thomas , '' Jerry Springer - The Opera '', is based on his show. It first became popular at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2002 . It has since played at the National Theatre in London, and has moved to London's West End . It was also screened on BBC 2 Television , causing some controversy. The 2002 Brad Paisley Country Music Video for "I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin Song)" featured a Jerry Springer episode with the show's title being "My Husband Left Me for a Fish" during the Video 's run. The Peter Gabriel song entitled "The Barry Williams Show" (released on the Up album) is a reference to The Jerry Springer Show and shows like it. Dutch Punk Rock Band Heideroosjes made a song called "Jerry Rules In The Land Of The Free" that was featured partly in a compilation of clips in a Jerry Springer show episode. Jerry Springer made a cameo appearance in as himself during an episode of his show featuring Dr. Evil and his estranged son Scott Evil "Weird Al" Yankovic wrote a song parody called "Jerry Springer" that appeared on the Running With Scissors album. Springer has also appeared on the Improvisational Comedy show '' Whose Line Is It Anyway? '' The popular Peru vian talk-show '' Laura En América '' features on-air fights amongst guests and scandalous topics similar to the Springer Show. REFERENCES
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