Jerry Springer Dead: See Him on ‘Dancing With the Stars’

Jerry Springer starred in one of the early seasons of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars, managing to get further than anyone would have expected. The daytime television legend participated in Season 3, which aired back in the fall of 2006. He was paired with pro dancer Kym Johnson. Springer died Thursday at 79.

Springer, who was 62 at the time, made it all the way to Week 7 before he and Johnson were eliminated. He did much better than another TV personality who competed that season, Tucker Carlson, who was the first eliminated. Other contestants that season included Shanna Moakler, Vivica A. Fox, Willa Ford, Sara Evans, Monique Coleman, Joey Lawrence, and Mario Lopez. Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke won the season.

Although Springer’s scores from the judges weren’t that impressive, his fanbase continued to vote for him. Although it turned out to be a fun experience, Springer said on the Behind the Velvet Rope podcast last year he found himself begging fans not to vote for him. He was surprised by how difficult it was to learn ballroom dancing.

“I would never do it again because I realized how difficult it was,” Springer said, via PEOPLE. “What was fun about it is that I was totally outside my comfort zone. And I, as much as possible, tried to turn it into my comfort zone by instead of selling my dancing, which was hopeless, I would tell jokes… I would keep begging each week, ‘Please don’t vote for me.’”

After he was eliminated, Springer told ABC he didn’t think he belonged on the show for seven weeks. “This show belongs to people who really can dance,” he said. “I think it was cruel to keep me on.”

When Len Goodman announced his retirement last year, he told PEOPLE that Springer’s dedication was a memory from the show he couldn’t forget. Springer “hoping to stay in long enough so he could learn to waltz and dance it at his daughter’s wedding spring to mind in a flash when I think back,” Goodman said. Goodman died earlier this week after a battle with cancer at 78.

Springer, who was born in London to German-Jewish refugees during World War II, began his professional life in Ohio politics. After he was elected to the Cincinnati City Council in 1971, he was chosen to serve as the city’s mayor for a year in 1977. After leaving politics in the early 1980s, he changed careers and became a broadcaster. His famous daytime talk show, Jerry Springer, debuted in 1991 and quickly made him a household name. The show ended in 2018. Springer’s final TV series was Judge Jerry, which aired between September 2019 and March 2022.

“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,” Jene Galvin, Springer’s longtime family spokesperson, said in a statement. “He’s irreplaceable and his loss hurts immensely, but memories of his intellect, heart, and humor will live on.”