Steve Wilkos Says He Had No Idea Jerry Springer Had Cancer

Talk show host Steve Wilkos is paying tribute to his old friend and mentor, Jerry Springer, who passed away on Thursday at the age of 79.

Steve was a former Chicago cop and one of the security guards on “The Jerry Springer Show” before he started his own show in 2007 called “The Steve Wilkos Show.” The show was adapted from the “Steve to the Rescue” segment he used to do for “The Jerry Springer Show.”

Although the two have been friends for decades, Steve claimed that he just saw Jerry last month and had absolutely no idea that his old friend was struggling with cancer, or that he would pass away so soon.

Jerry Springer was private about his cancer battle - so private, in fact, that even his longtime friend Steve Wilkos didn't know that he was struggling until he had passed away. Steve spent ten seasons working on "The Jerry Springer Show," which ultimately ran from 1991 to 2018. Over 27 seasons were made, along with over 5,000 episodes.

Steve joined the show in 1994 and only left the show in 2007 when "The Steve Wilkos Show" began to air. In an interview on TMZ Live shortly after news broke that Jerry had passed away peacefully in his Chicago home, Steve said that he and Jerry hung out together last month and Jerry didn't mention that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

However, looking back on it now, Steve says that Jerry might have "been saying good-bye to me" as he says Jerry "hugged me like he never hugged me before." He explained that the former Mayor of Cincinnati also seemed interested in reminiscing about the "good old times," which is something that they didn't do very often.

Other than his father, Steve admitted that no one had a bigger impact on his life than Jerry. He credits him with helping him start his own talk show, build his career, and even credits him for introducing him to his wife Rachelle Wilkos.

Rachelle was a former senior producer on “The Jerry Springer Show” and currently serves as an executive producer for “The Steve Wilkos Show,” which is now in its sixteenth season. The two have been married since 2000 and have two children together.

Looking back on their friendship, the 59-year-old former cop said that Jerry always was there to support him and he even believed that Jerry might outlive him!

In February 2018, Steve Wilkos admitted that he lied to TMZ after he had been charged with a DUI in a car crash. At the time, he told the outlet that he got distracted when he reached for his glasses, which resulted in a car accident.

However, a search warrant revealed that his BAC was .29% at the time of the accident, which was way over the legal limit. A warrant was issued for his arrest, but he turned himself in. After being charged with operating under the influence, he was released after posting a $1,500 bond.

Steve struck several poles and hit a tree before the vehicle rolled over. Photos from the accident show a grisly scene, with a black car lying on his side. Steve was hospitalized for minor injuries and “The Steve Wilkos Show” paused production as he recovered.

"Over the course of my life, I have been struggling with bouts of depression, and on the day of my accident, I had a complete lapse in judgment which resulted in me drinking and getting behind the wheel of my car,” he told TMZ at the time. “This experience reinforces my commitment to get the professional help that I need and I have recently completed an intensive medically supervised program.”

Although he never went to rehab, Jerry wasn’t the only one to suffer consequences from a lapse of judgment. In 1971, Jerry was elected to the Cincinnati City Council but resigned after he confessed to having solicited a prostitute in 1974.

He held a press conference where he came clean about the incident, and his honesty helped him win back his seat in 1975 by a wide margin.

Although he considered running for the U.S. Senate in 2000 and 2004, Jerry eventually gave up on the idea because he was nervous about what negative impacts “The Jerry Springer Show” might have on his campaign and political future.