Steve Wilkos, who got his start as Jerry Springer’s former “bodyguard” on Springer’s often confrontational talk show, said on Thursday that he had no idea that the TV legend had terminal pancreatic cancer.
“You know, we’ve been emailing back and forth and I actually saw him about a month ago. He was in New York and he came up to Stanford to see me and we went out for cigars and I, you know, looking back now I kind of think he knew, but he didn’t call me. And you know, he’s very emotional. And it’s just I didn’t know that was gonna be the last time I saw him,” Wilkos told NewsNation on Thursday after they reported on Springer’s death at the age of 79.
Wilkos went on to say, “He did so much for me. The life that I have is all because of him. And I’m all shook right now … I’m just I’m devastated.”
He added, “You know, people had this kind of perception of Jerry because the show but if you ever met him, you never met a better person… I mean, the guy just always handled himself with such class and, and [was so generous to]everybody that worked on that show. There was no better man in my life.”
“The Jerry Springer Show” ran from 1991 to 2018. Springer was also a producer of “The Steve Wilkos Show,” which launched in 2007.
