CINCINNATI — Family, friends and fans honored TV star and former Cincinnati Mayor Jerry Springer during a celebration of life Friday in Over-the-Rhine.
Entertainers, politicians, Springer's news colleagues and other high-profile guests gathered with fans to remember the Cincinnati legend at Memorial Hall.
Tickets for the free event were limited and ran out just hours after the event was announced.
During the celebration of life, old clips of Springer were shown and multiple people, including Vice Mayor jan-Michele Kearney, spoke about his impact.
Kearney also proclaimed June 9 to be "Jerry Springer Day" in Cincinnati.
Springer died on April 27 at the age of 79 in his Chicago home after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
He moved to Cincinnati in 1968 to work in a law firm after graduating from Northwestern University law school. Springer had already jumped into the political arena, working for Robert Kennedy's presidential campaign.
In Cincinnati, he became chairman of the Hamilton County "Voter-19 Campaign," which sought to lower the voting age in Ohio. He was a Pied Piper with young people, rallying big numbers of college and high school students.
The Democratic Party took notice and ran 26-year-old Springer for Congress in 1970 against four-term incumbent Republican Donald Clancy. Springer, an Army reservist, ran on an anti-war platform. Instead of being a sacrificial lamb, Springer got 45 percent of the vote in the heavily-Republican Second District.
He won a council seat on his first try in 1971 and was re-elected in 1973 with the second most votes behind popular Mayor Theodore M. Berry.
After a brief scandal that pushed him to resign from city council in 1974, Springer was elected Mayor of Cincinnati three years later, in 1977.
"When I think of being flat on my back three years ago, having this happen is almost unbelievable," Springer said in 1977. "This is the best feeling I've ever had in my political life."
Springer went on to be better-known for hosting a tabloid talk show named after him from 1991 to 2018. He debuted his own podcast, hosted America's Got Talent and hosted the courtroom show Judge Jerry.
“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,” said Jene Galvin, a family spokesperson and friend of Springer's since 1970.
“He’s irreplaceable and his loss hurts immensely, but memories of his intellect, heart and humor will live on.”
Former WCPO digital reporter Greg Noble contributed to this report.
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