Jerry Springer was born in London in 1944 as his family fled from the Holocaust. At age 5, Jerry emigrated to New York City with his family, where he can still recall the sense of awe and anticipation he felt when he first saw the Statue of Liberty and passed through the gates of freedom on Ellis Island. In America, they could live without persecution. Springer is dedicated to upholding the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. His family saw firsthand what happens when those freedoms are denied.

After earning a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Tulane University, Springer received his law degree from Northwestern University in 1968. His first job after law school was working as one of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's presidential campaign aides. After Kennedy's assassination, Springer joined a law firm and moved into the political arena himself. He spearheaded the effort to lower the voting age from 21 to 18, which culminated with his testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of ratification of the 26th Amendment to the Constitution. He was elected Cincinnati's Council-at-Large in 1971, serving five successive terms. In 1977, Springer was elected Mayor of Cincinnati by the largest plurality in the city's history. At age 33, he was one of the country's youngest mayors.

Five years later, Springer launched his career in broadcasting as a political reporter and commentator on Cincinnati's WLWT-TV. He became anchor and managing editor in 1984 and was Cincinnati's top-rated news anchor until he relinquished the post in January 1993. During his tenure, Springer received seven Emmy Awards for his nightly commentaries, the forerunner to his "Final Thought," and was voted television's Best Anchor for five consecutive years by readers of Cincinnati Magazine. Of his professional achievements, Springer is most proud of his involvement with Cincinnati Reaches Out, contributing on-site reporting from Ethiopia and Sudan where he documented the effort to provide assistance to famine-stricken Africans.

The company that owned WLWT-TV also owned The Phil Donahue Show. One day, Springer's employers took him to lunch and gave him a new assignment: hosting his own talk show. The Jerry Springer Show, a daily, one-hour talk show, premiered on September 30, 1991. Now entering its 9th season, the Jerry Springer Show is seen in more than 190 U.S. markets and is a hit in 50-plus foreign countries. The Jerry Springer Show has become the nation's No. 1 daytime series and the first talk show to beat Oprah Winfrey in more than a decade.

For three consecutive years, Springer served as co-host of Jerry Lewis' annual Stars Across America Muscular Dystrophy Labor Day Telethon. For several years, he has been on the advisory board of the Audrey Hepburn Hollywood for Children Fund (AHHCF), an umbrella foundation to continue Hepburn's formidable work for needy children around the world. Dedicated to improving the standard of children's education, Springer has established a scholarship fund at the Kellman School in Chicago that serves inner-city youth.

Ringmaster, a book written by Springer, hit store shelves in November 1998 and shares his personal look behind the scenes of his show and remembrances from his childhood and professional career. Also in November 1998, Springer made his first venture into feature films starring in Ringmaster, a fictionalized chronicle of a television talk show. In 1999, Springer played himself in the hit movie Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me.

Springer's worldwide popularity has led to other projects internationally, including a prime time special for ITV in the United Kingdom that casts Springer as the host of a late night celebrity/variety show. It is set to air in fall 1999. Earlier this year, Springer spent a week in London standing in for the vacationing morning host of This Morning, England's equivalent to the Today Show.

Jerry Springer: Too Hot For TV has become the hottest selling video nationally and internationally. The video series features clips and out takes from the shows that are "too hot" to air on national television. These tapes have drawn wide-ranging appeal from college students to professional athletes and have sold more than a million and a half copies.

Be it lawyer, politician, newsman, author, actor, talk show host, rock 'n' roll singer, they're all Jerry Springer.

If any of the cast members has a web site dedicated to just them, I might include a link to it here.