Jerry's simply irreplaceable but his heart and humour will live on..

He was the beloved ringmaster of a hit TV circus famed for its outrageous confessions and furious studio punch-ups.

- CHRISTOPHER BUCKTIN

Episodes of the Jerry Springer Show included The Guy Who Married a Horse, The Woman Who Slept with 70 Men in 10 Hours and I Cut Off My Manhood.

In one, a sex worker lost her false teeth in a fistfight while in another, mother-and-daughter dominatrices rode their "slave" around the stage.

Loved and loathed in equal measure, it led to its host, who died yesterday aged 79, being crowned the King of Trash TV.

Yet, while the audience lapped up the mayhem and chanted his name "Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!" - his guests were interviewed with a genial patience, mingled with compassion, amusement, intelligence and wry detachment.

He once insisted: "I am not superior to the people on my show."

And he always signed off by telling his audience: "Take care of yourself, and each other." The former mayor of Cincinatti, whose parents fled Nazi Germany to live in London, had been diagnosed with cancer a few months ago and died at home in suburban Chicago.

Jene Galvin, a lifelong friend, said: "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.

"He's irreplaceable, and his loss hurts immensely, but memories of his intellect, heart and humour will live on."

The Jerry Springer Show ran for 27 years and almost 5000 episodes, often bringing a seedier side of American life into the homes of millions worldwide.