Celebrity Celebrity Deaths Celebrity Death News Jerry Springer's Cause of Death Confirmed as Pancreatic Cancer: 'His Illness Was Sudden' The famed talk show is remembered as "a kind and generous person" who "never lost sight of his roots," by his longtime rabbi, who visited him the week before he died By Breanne L. Heldman and Dory Jackson Dory Jackson Dory Jackson is a Staff Editor for PEOPLE's TV News team. Upon joining the brand in March 2021, she has had the opportunity to interview a long list of celebrities, from Kate Hudson to Pierce Brosnan to Billy Porter. She has also helped recap popular TV shows like 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,' 'Sister Wives' and 'Vanderpump Rules.' The New York-based Maryland native graduated from Randolph-Macon College in May 2016 with a focus on Communication Studies and Journalism. She came to PEOPLE in March 2021 after working at a number of major news companies, including Newsweek and Us Weekly. People Editorial Guidelines Published on April 27, 2023 02:20PM EDT After Jerry Springer's family shared that the daytime host had died early Thursday following a "brief illness," PEOPLE has confirmed that Springer's death was the result of cancer. His publicist, Linda Shafran, also confirmed to PEOPLE that he specifically died of pancreatic cancer. Springer's longtime friend and religious leader, Rabbi Sandford Kopnick of The Valley Temple in Cincinnati, told PEOPLE that the Jerry Springer Show host's "illness was sudden." "He hasn't been sick for a long time," Rabbi Kopnick shared of Springer, 79, whom he visited just last week. "He died of cancer, and he didn't have cancer for very long." Jerry Springer's Famous Friends and Fans React to His Death: 'Smartest, Most Generous, Kindest Person' eidi Gutman/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Describing the former Cincinnati mayor's overall nature, Kopnick said that Springer "was a kind and generous person who was not really best pictured on his television show." "There was much more to him than The Jerry Springer Show," he continued. "He was very, very smart. He was a remarkable family man, and he was somebody who understood what it means to pay it forward." Kopnick added, "He always knew his good fortune. He never took it for granted. When he certainly could have moved on to another congregation after I arrived in this one, not only did he stay, but he did what he could to make it thrive." Jerry Springer's Life in Photos Ralf-Finn Hestoft/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Springer was also always willing to assist the congregation, "whether it was to help emcee an interfaith dialogue, or meet with our high school kids, or be the featured speaker at a men's club event," Kopnick added. "He never said no. He may have needed to figure out how to schedule it, but he never said no," he explained. "He wasn't really a resident of Cincinnati other than when he was contemplating running for office. So as a result, it always meant that he always, at his expense, would fly in for a day or two, and he was just so kind and so generous and very unassuming." "He never lost sight of his roots," he continued. "He understood the great fortune that his family had in escaping Germany and ending up in England and then moving here." Jerry Springer Said He Hoped to Be Working Until Age 104: 'I'm Lucky' Gary Gershoff/Getty Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Springer was best known for hosting 27 seasons of his syndicated talk show, and he also headlined the reality series Judge Jerry for three seasons and briefly served as a judge on America's Got Talent. He was also the 56th mayor of Cincinnati in the 1970s before pursuing a career in media.