Joseph Albert Wapner, Jr.
Birthplace: Los Angeles, CA
Religion: Jewish
Occupation: TV Personality
Military service: US Army (1942-44)
Appointed to the bench by California's then-Governor Pat Brown in 1959. After a lengthy but not particularly noteworthy career on the Los Angeles Superior Court bench, I retired in 1979, and was soon offered a televised gavel.
The People's Court premiered in September of 1981, and I presided over about 7,000 cases. I "retired from television" in 1993. Judge Judy premiered in 1996 and drew boffo ratings, so The People's Court was revived in 1997 -- but I wasn't invited back. And I wasn't at all pleased with that decision.
About Judge Judy: "She is not portraying a judge as I view a judge should act. Shes discourteous, and shes abrasive. Shes not slightly insulting -- shes insulting in capital letters!"
I spent the late 1990s presiding over Animal Court instead, where I resolved claims between pet owners. Rusty Burrell, my TV bailiff on The People's Court, was also bailiff on Animal Court.
In 2002, I presided over a mock trial for Abraham -- yes, the Jewish patriarch. Abraham, charged with attempted murder for almost sacrificing his son (see Genesis 22), was exonerated.
Father: Joseph M. Wapner
Wife: Mickey (m. 1946)
Daughter: Sarah
Son: Frederick
Son: David
Girlfriend: Lana Turner (dated in high school)
High School: Hollywood High School, Hollywood, CA
University: BA Philosophy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (1941)
Law School: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (1948)
Tau Epsilon Phi Fraternity
Bronze Star
Purple Heart
