Joseph Albert Wapner (born November 15, 1919 in Los Angeles, California) is a former American judge and TV personality of the real-life courtroom-style show The People's Court, which ran in syndication from 1981 - 1993 for 2,484 episodes. He was the first in the court-themed genre to preside over real-life cases. On The People's Court, Wapner mediated a binding arbitration which was set up to resemble a small claims court by pitting parties, without lawyers, against each other. The legacy of the show's high popularity has led to myriad other similar syndicated shows such as Judge Judy and Judge Joe Brown among others. Five years after The People's Court ended its original run, Wapner starred on cable channel Animal Planet's Judge Wapner's Animal Court, presiding over real cases involving or about animals. This lasted from 1998 - 2000. He also made an appearance in the pilot episode of Sliders, playing himself (as "Commissar Wapner") in a Parallel Earth in which the Soviet Union conquered the United States; Officer Rusty Burrell and Doug Llewelyn also appeared in the episode. Judge Wapner attended Hollywood High School and dated actress Lana Turner for a short while in high school.[1] Wapner is a graduate of the University of Southern California (1941) and the USC Law School (1948), serving in World War II in between. Wapner was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star while serving in the South Pacific in Cebu. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army as a lieutenant. Appointed by Governor Pat Brown to the Los Angeles Municipal Court in 1959, Wapner served 2 years before being elevated to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where he served for 18 years before retiring. While serving on the Superior Court bench, Wapner also served as Presiding Judge where he instituted many reforms. Wapner has been active in Jewish causes, including sitting on the board of a Jewish school.[2] Wapner has also authored two books, "A View from the Bench" and "Judge Wapner's Guide to Small Claims Court." On August 9, 2008, Wapner appeared as Judge in a "MLB on FOX" Pregame People's Court parody segment called "The Players Court". Wapner lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife, Mickey. He enjoys playing doubles tennis and bridge.

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