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The late Ohio governor-turned-tabloid talk show host Jerry Springer’s namesake TV show did more than babysit kids home sick in the ‘90s and ’00s. The Jerry Springer Show aired dirty laundry over 27 seasons, showing confrontations between cheating spouses or out-of-control teens and their parents to help them move forward through conflict that could only be resolved once the audience gave Springer’s famous chant of “Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!”
Springer’s influence lives on in Portland with the live tabloid talk show The Ricky Winters Show, which celebrates its first anniversary on Friday, Feb. 28 at the Clinton Street Theater. Since its debut last year, the show has been staged at eight different venues, including Funhouse Lounge and Kickstand Comedy.
Hosted and created by James Hartenfeld, a 2024 Funniest Five winner, The Ricky Winters Show is a partly-scripted but mostly-improvised comedy show where guests come on stage to settle some sort of beef. Recent examples: a love triangle with two people named Dylan, in love with a third person also named Dylan. A brother addicted to dressing up as Jim Carrey in The Mask. Cheaters.
“We break a lot of props and make a lot of messes,” Hartenfeld says.
Hartenfeld’s character, Ricky Winters, is billed as if Springer fought Eric Andre—host of The Eric Andre Show, the abrasively absurdist talk show that aired from 2012–23 on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block—and “they just turned into one guy.” Just like Springer and Andre, Winters always wears suits on the show. His come from Goodwill, and they get completely trashed on stage. Like on Springer, Winters has a bodyguard named The Mayor who comes on stage to break up fights. There’s even a fake sponsor called Fist Guys (with a promotional video and website), a subscription service for men’s watches and rings.
Hartenfeld is nothing if not committed to the bit, even if it’s a little hard to explain to first-timers.
“The most wonderful thing is when people show up and have no idea what this is going to be and they tell me afterwords that they couldn’t stop smiling the whole time,” he says. “That’s my favorite compliment.”
SEE IT: The Ricky Winters Show at the Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton St. cstpdx.com/event/the-ricky-winters-show. 8 pm Friday, Feb. 28. $20.