Jerry Springer’s Cause of Death Confirmed: ‘Illness Was Sudden’

Jerry Springer passed away on Thursday, April 27, after what his family described as a “brief illness,” but now the cause of death has been confirmed.

As reported by People, Springer’s death was the result of cancer, specifically pancreatic cancer, as confirmed by the former talk show host’s publicist, Linda Shafran.

Religious leader Rabbi Sandford Kopnick of The Valley Temple in Cincinnati, who was a longtime friend of Springer, told People that the “illness was sudden,” sharing, “He hasn’t been sick for a long time. He died of cancer, and he didn’t have cancer for very long.”

Kopnick, who said he visited Springer just last week, said of his friend that he “was a kind and generous person who was not really best pictured on his television show.”

“There was much more to him than The Jerry Springer Show,” he added. “He was very, very smart. He was a remarkable family man, and he was somebody who understood what it means to pay it forward. He always knew his good fortune. He never took it for granted. When he certainly could have moved on to another congregation after I arrived in this one, not only did he stay, but he did what he could to make it thrive.”

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“He never lost sight of his roots,” he concluded. “He understood the great fortune that his family had in escaping Germany and ending up in England and then moving here.”

Springer was best known for hosting The Jerry Springer Show for 27 years, helping revolutionize daytime talk shows and becoming one of the format’s most recognized figures. He also hosted three seasons of the courtroom reality series Judge Jerry.

His final TV appearance came in the eighth season of The Masked Singer, where he performed as Beetle, singing Frank Sinatra‘s “The Way You Look Tonight.”

Springer is survived by his daughter Katie Springer, his grandson, and his sister Evelyn.