Getty Jerry Springer.
Jerry Springer was not married at the time of his death on April 27, 2023. He had one wife, Margaret “Micki” Velten Springer, over the years, but they divorced years ago.
The marriage did produce one child. Springer’s daughter with his ex-wife is named Katie Springer Yenkin. His parents fled the Holocaust, according to the Jewish Virtual Library.
Springer, the former daytime talk show host turned “Dancing With the Stars” contestant, has died at the age of 79, according to TMZ. His cause of death was pancreatic cancer, according to TMZ, which quoted a family spokesperson as saying Springer died of a “brief illness.”
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Jerry Springer Was Divorced From Wife Margaret ‘Micki’ Velten in 1994 After Years of Marriage
Springer was divorced in 1994 from his wife, Margaret ‘Micki’ JoAnn Velten, whom he married in 1973, and they had one daughter, Katie Springer, IMDb reported.
According to Distractify, Springer was married to Micki Velten “between 1973 and 1994,” and they met when she was working for Procter and Gamble in Cincinnati and he was the city’s mayor. They had dated for years, the site reported.
She was his only wife as he never married again.
A 1974 article in The Cincinnati Enquirer, accessed through Newspapers.com, described Micki Springer as “the wife of Jerry Springer, but she’s not a politician’s wife.”
“She didn’t run for office, I did,” the newspaper quoted Jerry Springer as saying
The article quoted Micki Springer as saying, “I do go around to campaign with him. In the summer, I went to all the festivals. I can see myself in a situation where I could speak to small groups, but I am petrified of large groups.” The article says she doesn’t like public speaking.
According to that story, Springer’s wife was then a University of Cincinnati student who was a teacher. According to the article, in 1969, Micki Velten was a secretary at Proctor & Gamble Co. when she asked a co-worker to find her a date so she could go to a movie with her sister and brother-in-law. The friend set her up with Jerry Springer.
“It was the best blind date you could ever imagine,” Springer’s wife told the newspaper then. “He was totally different from anyone else I had ever dated. He was totally uninhibited. I guess it impressed me because I’m so worried about what other people think. Now, I realize that’s just Jerry.
The site says that she was born in Cynthiana, Kentucky, and had worked as a second grade teacher.
“I wanted to work with people,” Springer’s wife told the Enquirer. “Now that I’ve been in some of the schools, I’ve seen there are a lot of things you can do as a teacher. A lot of the kids just need a friend.” Public records show that Margaret Springer lives in Florida today.
2. Springer’s Daughter Katie Springer Yenkin Was Born Visually Impaired
In a 1977 article, accessed through Newspapers.com, Springer’s then wife, Micki Springer, spoke about their young daughter Katie Springer.
The article says that Jerry Springer was Cincinnati’s mayor at that time.
“I think it is important – at least to me – to be home with Katie in her first years,” Springer’s then wife told the newspaper. “I did this by choice because of those beliefs. But that doesn’t mean I won’t change later on and do different things.”
That article says that Katie “has been blind since birth – diagnosed inoperable – but there lately have been indications she has some visual capability, although the extent is unknown.”
“One of the things I think I am most interested in now, because of our Katie’s handicap, is telling the public how really fine the Cincinnati public school program for the visually handicapped is,” Micki Springer told the Enquirer.
“Katie is enrolled in what is called early childhood education for handicapped children. She has home visits every Monday and Thursday by an instructor in this department.”
According to the New York Post, Katie Springer is now 47 years old. Her Facebook page indicates that, today, she is Katie Springer Yenkin and married with a child. She attended Barat College, the Facebook page says. According to The Sun, Springer’s daughter ended up a teacher who works with kids with disabilities.
3. Jerry Springer’s Parents Fled the Holocaust & His Relatives Died in Concentration Camps
GettyJerry Springer.
According to his IMDb profile, Springer was born Gerald Norman Springer in London, England, on February 13, 1944, to parents – Margot and Richard Springer – who fled the Holocaust.
The family moved to Queens, New York, when Springer was 5 years old, IMDb reported.
The Jewish Virtual Library says that Springer was born in an underground station in London because “his parents were taking shelter in the station from German bombing runs. His parents, Margo and Richard Springer, were Polish Jews who escaped from Germany during the Holocaust.”
According to the Jewish Virtual Library, “Springer’s paternal grandmother and great-uncle died at the Theresienstadt concentration camp, and his maternal grandmother was gassed at the Chelmno extermination camp.”
4. Jerry Springer Faced a Prostitution Scandal the Year After He Married Micki Velton, But They Remained Married
GettyJerry Springer.
According to a 1974 article in the Cincinnati Enquirer, Springer “offered his resignation” as a city council member in that city after “reports of a vice probe involving a well known politician.” In a press conference, Stringer “acknowledged patronizing health clubs under investigation,” the newspaper reported.
Another article in that newspaper, accessed through Newspapers.com, says that Springer admitted engaging in activities “which, at least to me, are questionable.”
He said in a news conference that they occurred at a health club at the President Motor Inn in northern Kentucky.
“I believe the interest of the public is best served by my resignation until such time as the air has been cleared,” he said in that article. Springer said in a news conference that he had been to the health club twice.
“These actions have weighed heavily on my conscience,” he said. The newspaper reported that an FBI investigation helped lead to Springer’s press conference.
5. Jerry Springer Died Peacefully at His Chicago Home
GettyJerry Springer appears at an event.
According to TMZ, Springer learned he had pancreatic cancer only a few months before his death but “took a turn for the worse” before dying on April 27, 2023.
Springer died peacefully at home in Chicago, TMZ reported.
According to his biography on Britannica, Springer was an Ohio politician in the 1970s whose prostitution scandal caused controversy. He switched to television, and his controversial talk show ran for 27 years, the site reported. He also appeared on “Dancing With the Stars” and “The Masked Singer,” in addition to working in theater and radio, according to The Jewish Virtual Library.
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