Final Thoughts: Jerry Springer | Plausible Deniability
4/23/202656 min
By the mid-1990s, The Jerry Springer Show had made a name for itself by embracing the messy and unbelievable aspects of people’s personal lives. As ratings soar, producers scramble to make shocking episodes that will live up studio executives’ highest expectations – and Springer’s guests are caught in the crossfire.
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First 90 secondsNorm LeBeau· Guest0:00
I was on Sally, I was on Geraldo, I was on Joan Rivers, I was on Morton Downey Jr. The only two I never was on was Donahue and Oprah. They were the toughest ones to get on.
Leon Neyfakh· Host0:11
Norm LeBeau was a musician and marijuana activist living in Los Angeles in the 1980s, when talk shows first started taking over daytime TV. LeBeau made the rounds as his alter ego, The Reverend Bud Green, leader of a church whose mission was worshiping God by smoking weed and fighting the fascist government. His shtick, when he could get away with it, was to light up a joint on camera.
Norm LeBeau· Guest0:35
Here we do. When we light up a joint, we say, "I wanna thank the Lord for giving me the holy herb, which shows me the need to overthrow right-wing rich pigs like Reagan, Bush, and Quayle."
Leon Neyfakh· Host0:44
With his long hair and his thick beard, LeBeau looked like he'd stepped out of a time machine from the Summer of Love. When Jerry Springer hit the airwaves in 1991, LeBeau got himself on in the first year, and soon after, in the wake of the LA riots, he successfully pitched himself as a returning guest.
Norm LeBeau· Guest1:05
I said, "Hey, I looted during the riots. Uh, what do you think?"
Leon Neyfakh· Host1:10
Was that true? Had you been in the riots?
Norm LeBeau· Guest1:11
Yeah, well, I, you know, we took some rolling papers or something, basically, but I just, you know... That was one I maybe, uh, enamored a little bit.
Leon Neyfakh· Host1:18
According to LeBeau, producer Richard Dominick enamored a little bit further. To justify bringing the reverend on the show a second time, he needed a new angle.