How did Jerry Springer die? According to Jene Galvin and TMZ, Jerry Springer died from his brief illness of pancreatic cancer. He was diagnosed with the disease months before his death. A close friend Rabbi Sandford Kopnick told People, “He hasn’t been sick for a long time. He died of cancer, and he didn’t have cancer for very long.”

The subject of Netflix's new documentary "Fights, Camera, Action" was an Emmy-winning reporter and politician before changing pop culture forever.

Springer’s official cause of death was pancreatic cancer, his publicist, Linda Safran, confirmed to PEOPLE. His illness was sudden and brief, according to Springer’s longtime friend and religious leader, Rabbi Sandford Kopnick of The Valley Temple in Cincinnati.