JERRY SPRINGER - SPRINGER'S GOT A NEW HOSTING JOB

Jerry Springer will replace Regis Philbin as host of America's Got Talent when the NBC talent show returns in the summer, the network announced Monday. Springer, whose talk show, featuring battling guests and assorted oddballs, has aired in syndication for the last 16 years, issued a statement saying, "I've been around some of America's most talented individuals on my talk show, so I'll feel right at home hosting America's Got Talent." In her column in today's Washington Post, TV writer Lisa de Moreas observed that the former Cincinnati mayor "became something of a poor man's hero last fall when he signed on as one of the 'stars' of ABC's competition series Dancing With the Stars." Philbin said that he opted out of the hosting job because "I underestimated the impact the heavy travel schedule would have on my daily syndicated talk show." Philbin's talk show is taped in New York. Talent originates in Burbank, CA.

06/03/2007