Jerry Springer was the ringmaster of televised chaos, and while this might not be the legacy he’d hoped for in his early career, it sure made him a lot of money.
The meteoric rise and fall of the controversial chat show is the subject of Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action, a two-part Netflix documentary that landed today (January 7).
Although there’s nothing a diehard fan won’t know already, the new docu-series interviews a number of producers to lift the curtain on the show’s most controversial moments, as well as the morally ambiguous head honcho, Richard Dominick.
As for Springer himself, he was unable to take part as he died in April 2023 from pancreatic cancer, aged 79.
Jerry Springer’s net worth
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Jerry Springer’s net worth was $60 million when he passed away.
This is the same figure presented by the Netflix documentary when The Jerry Springer Show was cancelled in 2018.
A majority of this was from his career hosting the series, but he also earned from his time as a political commentator, hosting America’s Got Talent, and his early career in news anchoring and politics, including serving as the mayor of Cincinnati.
Jerry Springer expressed regrets for the show
As is revealed in Fights, Camera, Action, Springer never wanted to become the king of trash TV. He was open about his regret over the chat show, even apologizing in 2014 and saying, “I’ve ruined the culture.”
In his early adulthood, the host graduated as a lawyer before getting actively involved in politics by working on the campaign of Robert Kennedy in 1968.
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It wasn’t until 1991 when the show, simply titled Jerry Springer, was launched – but viewers would find it unrecognizable to what it became.
Early on, it was a calm, serious affair, dealing with real human connections and reuniting long lost relatives. However, when Dominick joined in 1994, he leaned into tabloid sensationalism and it worked – the ratings shot up.
But this took its toll on Jerry, as well as the producers who were left scrambling to find new (and authentic) guests each week.
Chicago media critic Robert Feder says, “The pact that Jerry made with Richard Dominick was a bargain that really caused him to sell his soul. And I believe that he knew every day of his life that what he was doing was really beneath him and beneath his dignity.”
The docu-series then cuts to the apology, which Springer made on the Dish Nation channel. “I’d like to take this opportunity to frankly apologize for everything I’ve ever done in television,” he said.
“I’m so sorry. I have ruined the culture. And, you know, I just hope hell isn’t that hot, I burn real easy… I hope you all pray for me. Because if I get to heaven, you’re all going.”
Although the hosts are laughing and there’s a debate as to whether he was being serious, this wouldn’t be the last time Springer would apologize or express regret for his show. In 2022, he made similar comments on David Yontef’s Behind the Velvet Rope podcast.
To learn more, Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action is streaming on Netflix now. You can also read about whether Cynthia and Antwon Mans ever went to jail, the new Diddy documentary on Peacock, and the best true crime docs of 2024.