Judge Wapner

Joseph Albert Wapner was born in Los Angeles on November 15, 1919.  His parents immigrated to America from Romania, where his father, like Wapner would himself one day, served as an attorney.

In 1941, Wapner graduated from the University of Southern California.  He had his sights set on law school, but decided to join the Army and serve his country during World War 2.  As a lieutenant stationed in the Philippines, Wapner was awarded both the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star before being honorably discharged.  Upon his return, he attended USC Law School.

Upon graduation, Wapner went into private practice as an attorney for the next ten years.  Then in 1959, he was appointed by California Governor Pat Brown to the Los Angeles Municipal Court.  He'd hold that position for two years before being elevated to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where he served as a judge until 1979.  During this time period, he also served as president of the California Judges Association from 1975 to 1976.

Rusty Burrell, Joseph Wapner and Doug Llewelyn.

In 1981, Wapner would achieve
international recognition when he was cast on the syndicated series The People's Court.  It was the first courtroom-based reality series and would set the tone for dozens that would follow.  Wapner presided as judge in a small claims court setting, where parties represented themselves without the aid of legal counsel.

In 1993, after having presided over 2,340 half-hour episodes (figure about twice as many cases), Wapner was released from
the series (i.e. fired).  His departure was
due to a ratings decline at the end of the show's 12-year run.  The series was canceled in 1993, and although it would return just four years later, Wapner would
not return with it.

"What you are seeing is real. 
The participants are not actors."

  In 1998, Wapner returned to television
  with a new type of legal drama, Judge
  Wapner's Animal Court.   The
  series, which lasted for two
  seasons on Animal Planet, saw
  Wapner presiding over cases
  involving animals in one form or
  another. 

  Joining him from The
  People's Court was his long-time
  bailiff and friend Rusty Burrell. 
  Here's a promo for the series. 

 


When the series was canceled, Wapner remained active in Jewish causes and served on the board of a Jewish school.  He took bit parts in Hollywood, and appeared as an alternate-universe version of himself on the TV series Sliders. 

Joseph Wapner died of respiratory failure on February 26, 2017.  He was 97 years old.

He was buried at Mt. Sinai Cemetery Memorial Park Cemetery.  Note the tire tracks.

Location: Gardens of Ramah, Map #8, Lot #4066, Space #2
Inscription #1: Beloved Husband, Father, Grandfather and Great-Grandfather
Inscription #2: Presiding Judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court 
Judge of The People's Court 
President of Brandeis Bardin Institute

The Court rests, Your Honor.

Trivia

• You're humming the theme song right now, aren't you?
  
  
• Wapner had his own brand of soft drinks produced by soda company Rocket Fizz.  I absolutely love this label.
  
  
  
  
  
• In 1987, Wapner released A View From the Bench, a first-person narrative of his most unforgettable cases.  You can pick up a copy from Amazon.
  
  
• As a student at Hollywood High School, Wapner dated future screen legend Lana Turner.
  
  
• Wanna see the most ridiculous case that Wapner ever presided over?  Check out the case of the $3 pizza here.
  
  
• On November 12, 2009, Wapner received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, right outside Hooters.  Here's amateur video of the event.