Joseph Wapner was an American judge and television personality who is best known for appearing as the first and sole presiding judge of the reality court show 'The People's Court' during its first installment that ran for 12 seasons. He remained the longest-reigning arbiter at 'The People's Court' for two decades after his tenure before Marilyn Milian took over the title from him on the revived version of the show. As a judge, he briefly served at the Los Angeles Municipal Court before being appointed to the Los Angeles County Superior Court. He had previously served in the US Army during the Second World War and was a practicing attorney for a decade. He also served as a judge on Animal Planet's nontraditional reality court show 'Judge Wapner's Animal Court' and appeared as himself on several other television series, including multiple appearances on 'The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'.
