Jerry Springer, the long-time host of the eponymous daytime talk show, died today at 79.  Prior to hosting the show that some claim contributed to a decline in American social values, Springer had served as the mayor of Cincinnati and a television news anchor.  Debuting in 1991 The Jerry Springer Show was based out of NBC Tower in Chicago from 1992-2009 and produced new episodes until 2018.

I made two visits to the audience of The Jerry Springer Show over the years, both while in college.  The first visit was early in the shows run, where it had already started to turn into the show it would eventually become, but there was still the occasional “serious” episode.  We managed to show up on the day of a serious episode.  No strippers, no cheating boyfriends, just parents looking for their missing children, either kidnapped or runaways.  To say it was a disappointment would be something of an understatement.  The second visit came a few years later and, while I don’t remember the exact topic, it was more along the lines of what you would expect.  My friend Mike even managed to ask a question, which probably got our mugs on TV.

After college, I didn’t see much of the show.  Part of that was having a job, but another was having outgrown the format.  Jerry himself always seemed to be above the fray, or at least liked to think he was.  He certainly left a mark on the history of American television.  Or is it a stain.