Shock American talk show host Jerry Springer has died aged 79.
He was best-known to Irish TV viewers for his wacky The Jerry Springer Show, which ran from 1991 until 2018 in the US.
The show pitted families against eachother live on air with outrageous live results.
Family spokesman Jene Galvin said in a statement: “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.
“He’s irreplaceable and his loss hurts immensely, but memories of his intellect, heart and humour will live on.”
Springer died peacefully at his home in Chicago after a brief illness, the statement added.
Before Springer’s broadcasting career, which included stints as a political reporter and commentator, he was the mayor of Cincinnati, in the US state of Ohio, and a political campaign adviser to US presidential hopeful Robert F Kennedy.
Springer was born in a London Underground station on February 13, 1944, while it was being used as a bomb shelter.
His family – who had fled from Germany to England during the Holocaust – later settled in the Queens borough of New York City.
