When thinking of the Jerry Springer show I can't help but have the chant playing in my head. "Jerry, Jerry, Jerry." Whenever I stayed home sick from school it was this or Judge Judy that I would use to occupy my time. From those days of my youth, Jerry Springer's famous chant slowly became etched into my young brain. However, I never gave it much thought. I assumed it was just an excited crowd ready for the next insane episode of this ludicrous show. I never knew the true reason behind Jerry Springer's famous chant.
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The Evolution Of The Jerry Springer Show
Despite the show's immense success, it did not start out very popular. In the early days of the talk show, its reputation was lackluster. As the show's dwindling ratings edged it closer and closer to cancellation, executive producer Richard Dominick stepped in.
It was Dominick's decision to make the show take on some bold risks. In the new Netflix documentary, Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action, he explained that he strongly disliked the way the show was running. He stated, "I thought the show as just terrible. It was boring. You had a terrible host, a terrible show; the audience is 90."
Despite his disapproval of the show, Dominick decided he could make the show better. He wanted to create a program that no one had ever seen before. He said, "Let's take a talk show and turn it upside down. Let's turn it upside down. Let's make it wild. Let's make it sexy, because that's what I was known for."
Jerry Springer's Famous Chat: The Hype He Needed
Dominick succeeded in his endeavors to make the show wild. With outrageous guests and unbelievable stories, the talk show soon became a hit. However, not everyone agreed with their new executive producer's methods. One of the people that was hardest to convince was the host himself.
According to Dominick, Jerry thought this move was too risky and he was uncertain about the direction the show was heading. However, Dominick wooed him with praise and encouraged him to bring out his "funny guy" side. Not only did the executive producer encourage him but he decided to get the audience to do it as well with Jerry Springer's famous chant.
He recalls, "I told the manager, 'When he comes out, I want everybody on their feet, and I want them to chant Jer-ry, Jer-ry, Jer-ry,'." Not only was that hype for Jerry Springer himself but for the fans at home. According to Dominick, he believed the chanting of the audience would signal to the viewers at home that Jerry was clearly someone famous.
The Show's Downward Spiral
While producer Annette Grundy admitted that Jerry Springer's famous chant "made him a little more fly" it couldn't hide some of the horrors of the show. Sure, ratings went through the roof because people wanted to see what scandalous things happened next, but the toll it took on staff was devastating.
In the same documentary, producer Toby Yoshimura spoke out against the show. Detailing the stresses of finding the egregious acts and how it began to take its toll on him. He turned to drugs and alcohol to cope until eventually, he had had enough. One story was too much for even him to stomach and it caused him to flee the show and never return.
Learning the harrowing details behind the show and Jerry Springer's famous chant now places a sort of dark cloud over some of my childhood memories. All that praise just a way to soften up a host to showcase the absurdities of humanity.
