Jerry Springer’s ‘DWTS’ Partner Kym Johnson Recalls Teaching Him to Dance for His Daughter’s Wedding (Exclusive)
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“The love they had for each other was so beautiful,” the former Dancing with the Stars pro tells PEOPLE of Jerry Springer’s relationship with his daughter Katie
Kym Johnson felt the pressure of being Jerry Springer’s partner on season 3 of Dancing with the Stars — not only because she needed to teach the talk show host how to ballroom dance, but because of what Springer hoped to accomplish with his newly-acquired dance skills outside of the show.
“The reason he was doing Dancing with the Stars was to learn to dance for his daughter’s wedding,” Johnson, 46, tells PEOPLE of Springer, who died Thursday at 79 following a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.
“They wanted to do a father-daughter dance,” she continues. “He was so genuine in the reason why he wanted to do the show.”
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Thinking back to season 3, Johnson says she had just joined DWTS as a pro. Coming from Australia, she didn’t expect to be familiar with her celebrity partner.
“I’d just arrived in America and I was nervous I wouldn’t know who my celebrity was,” she recalls. “When I first met him, he looked at me and he said, ‘I’m sorry.’ I only knew him from The Jerry Springer Show. We instantly connected and he became like a father figure to me.”
Throughout the season, Johnson witnessed Springer’s dedication. “He was really open to the experience,” says the mom of 5-year-old twins Hudson and Haven. “He was willing to do anything I asked of him.”
Johnson even got to fly to Chicago and witness a taping of his infamous talk show, which she calls “a wild experience.” She also enjoyed hearing Springer’s stories about his days working in politics and as a news anchor.
“I remember going out to dinner with him and his old buddies that used to do the news with him in Cincinnati,” Johnson recalls. “The stories they had, it reminded me of the Anchorman movie. It just so sweet listening to them. From being the news anchorman to the mayor to a politician to hosting The Jerry Springer Show, he was fascinating to talk to.”
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After going out to lunch with Springer in Chicago, Johnson worked with him on choreographing a dance for his now-47-year-old daughter Katie’s wedding.
“I’ll always remember that moment,” Johnson says. “He was a really incredibly loving family man. He just adored his wife, Micki, and his daughter, Katie.”
Although Johnson didn’t get to see the dance in person at the October 2006 wedding, she and Springer danced a waltz on DWTS dedicated to Katie, who would occasionally stop by her dad’s rehearsals.
“He went and hugged her at the end. The love they had for each other was so beautiful,” Johnson recalls. “It was great that I could be a part of that moment for him and Katie.”
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Though Johnson and Springer didn’t take home the Mirrorball Trophy that season — the honor went to NFL player Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke — they ultimately placed fifth in the competition.
“He was surprised we kept getting through each week, because we definitely weren’t the best dancers,” Johnson says. “I think America fell in love with him in a different way. He just connected with everybody.”
“Even on the streets, when we were traveling around, people would stop him all the time and start chanting his name,” she continues. “He’d stop and say hello and take a picture with everybody. He had time for everyone. I got to see Jerry in a different light. Every week we absolutely had the best time.”
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Johnson and Springer stayed in touch over the years, grabbing dinner when he came to Los Angeles or if the two happened to be in the same city. Although Springer couldn’t make it to Johnson’s 2016 wedding to Shark Tank’s Robert Herjavec, Johnson says he took the couple out to dinner just before the big day.
“It was nice for him to meet Robert because Robert knew how highly I spoke of him,” Johnson shares.
Despite keeping in contact, “I didn’t know that he was sick,” Johnson says. “It must have been pretty sudden. He was just the greatest man.”
Related:Jerry Springer’s Cause of Death Confirmed as Pancreatic Cancer: ‘His Illness Was Sudden’
Springer’s longtime friend and religious leader, Rabbi Sandford Kopnick of The Valley Temple in Cincinnati, confirmed to PEOPLE on Thursday that his illness was “sudden,” as Johnson suggested.
“He hasn’t been sick for a long time,” Rabbi Kopnick shared of Springer, whom he visited just last week. “He died of cancer, and he didn’t have cancer for very long.”
Springer was best known for hosting 27 seasons of his syndicated talk show, the Jerry Springer Show, for headlining the reality series Judge Jerry for three seasons, and for briefly serving as a judge on America’s Got Talent.
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