Former ‘Springer’ bouncer Steve Wilkos pays tribute to TV mentor Jerry Springer

Steve Wilkos, who became a cult figure as the security director on “The Jerry Springer Show,” paid tribute Thursday to the man who helped launch his TV career.

Wilkos said daytime talk-show host Jerry Springer, who died Thursday at 79, was like a father to him. Springer’s infamous 1990s program set the stage for Wilkos’ own syndicated series that debuted in 2007.

“Other than my father, Jerry was the most influential man in my life,” Wilkos, 59, said Thursday in a statement to The Times. “Everything I have today, I owe to Jerry.”

“He was the smartest, most generous, kindest person I’ve ever known. My wife [Rachelle Wilkos] and I are devastated,” he added. “We will miss him terribly.”

On Twitter, Wilkos shared a photo of himself with Jerry that he captioned with Springer’s perennial sign-off: “Take care of yourself and each other.”

The U.S. Marine Corps vet and former Chicago police officer was the face of “Jerry Springer’s” security outfit, repeatedly breaking up fights that overtook the stage during the show’s unapologetically salacious segments. The no-nonsense bodyguard was prone to throwing a chair or two himself.

Wilkos, who began his stint on the program in 1994, also guest-hosted the top-rated show and, in later seasons, could be seen counseling its rowdy guests. The Chicago-bred TV personality then left “Springer” at the end of its 2006-07 season to host “The Steve Wilkos Show,” which has been renewed for a 17th season and is currently on hiatus until the summer.

“To be honest, the first year I hated doing my show. I wanted to go back on ‘Springer.’ Was I grateful for the opportunity? Yes, but that existence of hoping to be picked up for the next season was brutal,” Wilkos told the Chicago Sun-Times in 2014. “Those first couple of years, you’re so busy trying to keep the show on the air, you don’t get to enjoy doing the show. Now it’s a total pleasure.”

“Without Jerry, I wouldn’t have my wife, I wouldn’t have my children,” he added at the time. “By being on his show, that obviously changed my life. Without Jerry, I would probably still be pushing a Chicago squad [car] around the streets!”

NBCUniversal Syndication Studios, which produced Springer’s show for 27 seasons and also produces Wilkos’ program, described Springer on Thursday as “much more than a talk show host who redefined television.”

“He was a savvy politician, pop cultural icon, and devout and loyal friend who was most proud when he spoke up for the marginalized and unrepresented,” the studio said in a statement. “He connected equally with both the powerful and the man on the street. Strangers would open up to him and he loved nothing more than to give them a voice. We deeply mourn his loss and are fortunate to have been partners in a career that was truly astounding and a life that emulated the very best of us.”