Jerry Springer gets an earful in Las Vegas

By Melissa Arseniuk

Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009 | 7:22 p.m.

America’s got talent and everybody’s got a story – and Jerry Springer says everybody wants to tell him about it.

“As I walk down the street, everyone’s all, ‘Hey Jerry, do I have a story for you’,” he says.

As he speaks over the phone from his suite at Planet Hollywood, it’s not clear whether the seasoned daytime talk-show host is bragging or complaining.

Springer has made a name for himself showcasing the underbelly of American life: paternity scandals, love triangles (or hexagons, or octagons, or…), you name it.

The loved-and-loathed king of lowbrow is currently doing double duty, hosting “America’s Got Talent Live” at Planet Hollywood five nights a week in addition to shooting five installments of his namesake talk show back in Connecticut on what would be his off days.

The 65-year-old admits “It’s a crazy schedule.”

He hosts at PH Wednesday through Sunday, then catches an eastbound redeye after the show wraps on Sunday night to be ready to film three episodes of “The Jerry Springer Show” the next day, and two more the day after that. After that, it’s back to Vegas to do it all over again.

As if Springer’s schedule wasn’t busy enough, he is scheduled to host what’s billed as “a dysfunctional Halloween bash” at Hawaiian Tropic Zone on Saturday.

In addition to serving as party host, the one-time mayor of Cincinnati will judge the party’s costume contest, which is offering $500 for the sexiest Halloween get-up and $500 for the most dysfunctional couple’s costume.

Springer is perhaps the best man for the job: After 19 seasons of showcasing scandals on the small screen, Springer certainly knows dysfunctional couples.

“My mother must be so proud,” he jokes.

Springer says Vegas doesn’t have to wait for Halloween to get little freaky, or throw a (dysfunctional) party.

“You see all kinds here,” he says. “You see people dressed in all kinds of outfits, it’s almost like a Mardi Gras.”

Despite the nonstop craziness, hectic schedule and inability to walk the casino floor without being stopped for impromptu storytime, Springer is enjoying his stint in Las Vegas.

“I’m loving it,” he says. “Even though I’m not a gambler, … it’s one big party.”

While celebrities and public figures are frequently asked to pose for pictures and sign autographs for random strangers, Springer is constantly inundated with unsolicited show pitches, as well.

After nearly two decades of it, however, he says he’s used to it.

“Everyone has a show in them,” he muses. “Watch any show and whatever story you see is a story you can see here. What makes Vegas unique is … virtually everyone is from someplace else.”

“Just walking the streets here, walking through the casinos, you see a cross-section of America,” he says, calling his new, home-away-from-home “a piece of Americana.”

And wherever Jerry Springer looks in America, he sees another installment of his wildly popular talk show.

“You don't find anyone, for better or worse, that doesn’t know what the Jerry Springer show is,” he says.

The longtime host sees (and hears) show ideas every day he crosses the Planet Hollywood casino floor on the way to the “America’s Got Talent Live” stage.

“Every third table, you have five shows,” he suggests.

“I know people sometimes like to watch my show and say, ‘Oh, aren’t we better than that!’ and of course we’re not; we just dress better,” he says.

While the people on his small-screen show are generally “lower income,” Springer says they exhibit characteristics that all Americans can relate to, for better or worse.

“We're all alike,” he says. “Some of use are just richer or maybe had better luck in the gene pool in terms of parenting but otherwise we’re all the same. It’s not that people that are wealthier are more moral, or better behaved. Not at all.”

After 19 seasons of fist-flying, chair-throwing, cross-dressing fun, and with more than 3,500 episodes under his belt, Springer has seen it all.

“I don't think anything is shocking anymore,” he says.

Again, it’s not clear whether he’s bragging or complaining.

Either way, he thinks “America’s Got Talent Live” is a lot like his tabloid talk show.

“The stories there are the American Dream,” he says. “It's really not different except people on this show probably have more teeth.”

Melissa Arseniuk writes about Las Vegas entertainment and celebrity events. She can be reached at 702-948-7823 or by e-mail at [email protected].