Heavy/Getty Tom Bergeron is mourning the deaths of two friends.
Tom Bergeron is mourning back-to-back losses, and it’s taking him back to his “Dancing With the Stars” days.
Just a few days after the death of veteran DWTS judge Len Goodman, Bergeron reacted to the death of his longtime friend Jerry Springer. The 79-year-old talk show host, who was a contestant on the third season of the celebrity ballroom competition back in 2006, died from pancreatic cancer, according to TMZ.
Bergeron paid tribute to both of his late friends on social media.
Here’s what you need to know:
Tom Bergeron Called Jerry Springer’s Death a ‘Gut Punch’
On April 27, 2023, Bergeron posted to Instagram to react to Springer’s death. The former ABC host shared a montage of photos that showed him horsing around with “The Jerry Springer Show” host.
“Another gut punch,” Bergeron captioned the throwback pics. “#rip Jerry Springer. On left, goofing around backstage at @thejerryspringershow. Top & bottom right, backstage taping a bit for @jimmykimmellive.”
Bergeron hosted “Dancing With the Stars” for 28 seasons and crossed paths with hundreds of stars during that time, but he previously revealed that his all-time favorite DWTS moment involved Springer. In a 2018 interview with People Now, he recalled why Springer’s stint on the show with pro partner Kym Johnson stood out to him.
“Jerry Springer, who, when they told me he was gonna do the show, I’m like, ‘Jerry Springer? From that show?’ Turns out to be the biggest mensh, he’s an absolute sweetheart, and he only wanted to do the show so he could learn to do a waltz for his daughter’s wedding.”
“He had his motives, but they were sweet,” Bergeron added. “And he did the dance while she was sitting there in the audience and that was lovely, It was just a lovely, real moment.”
Springer spoke out about his time on DWTS in a 2022 interview on the “Behind the Velvet Rope” podcast. At the time, he told host David Yontef that the experience was “fun” but that he’d never want to do it again because it was so difficult.
“I was totally out of my comfort zone,” he said. He also admitted that his dancing was “hopeless” and that he even begged viewers to vote to send him home. After he botched a Paso doble, even his daughter, Katie, told him it was time to go home. “Moment of cruelty, they voted me on for another week. It was terrible,” Springer joked. The talk show host was the sixth celebrity eliminated that season and narrowly missed making it into the semi-finals.
In 2011, Bergeron made a cameo on the “Jerry Springer Show” in an episode about a dancing queen showdown. Springer introduced the DWTS host as ”a close personal friend” of his and “star of the number one hit show on television,’ Dancing With the Stars.’” After Bergeron chose the best dancer, he received a ‘Tom! Tom! Tom!” chant from the audience.
Tom Bergeron Also Paid Tribute to Len Goodman
The death of Springer at age 79 came just five days after Bergeron’s longtime colleague and friend Goodman died two days shy of his 79th birthday. Goodman served as the head judge on DWTS for from 2005 until his retirement in November, 2022. He died in a Kent, England hospice on April 22, 2023 following a brief illness and bone cancer diagnosis, according to Variety.
On social media, Bergeron posted a collage of photos of him with Goodman, then left the caption short and simple: “A Good man indeed,” he wrote.
Following Springer’s death, Bergeron posted a photo of Springer and Goodman to his Instagram story and captioned it “helluva week” with a sad face emoji.
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