1. Joseph Albert Wapner was an American judge and television personality.
21 Facts About Joseph Wapner
1. 2.
Joseph Wapner is best known as the first presiding judge of the reality court show The People's Court.
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Joseph Wapner attended Hollywood High School and once dated actress Lana Turner while in high school.
4.
Joseph Wapner was a graduate of the University of Southern California and the USC Law School, serving in World War II in between.
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Joseph Wapner was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star while serving in the South Pacific in Cebu.
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Joseph Wapner was honorably discharged from the US Army as a lieutenant.
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Joseph Wapner was initiated into the Tau Gamma chapter of the Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity.
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Joseph Wapner was an attorney in private practice for ten years.
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Joseph Wapner was president of the California Judges Association in 1975 and 1976 and retired from the court on November 16,1979.
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Joseph Wapner was the first judge to preside over the court show The People's Court.
11.
Joseph Wapner stated that he was told years later that the producers did not want to hurt his feelings; however, he noted that this is precisely what the show did.
12.
Joseph Wapner said he was not notified when the producers revamped the series.
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Joseph Wapner declined to offer opinions on the People's Court judges who succeeded him, as he never watched the revamped program.
14.
On November 12,2009, Joseph Wapner received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
15.
On November 13,2009, in honor of his 90th birthday on November 15, Joseph Wapner made a one-time-only return to the court show, acting as a guest judge, presiding over a case in the Marilyn Milian era of The People's Court.
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Until the summer of 2013, Joseph Wapner held the title of longest-reigning arbiter over The People's Court.
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Five years after presiding over The People's Court, Joseph Wapner returned to television as a judge in spin-off nontraditional courtroom series Judge Joseph Wapner's Animal Court, lasting for two seasons on Animal Planet.
18.
On June 27,1986, Joseph Wapner appeared on the Tonight Show to hear a case of David Letterman vs Johnny Carson over alleged damage to the headlight of Letterman's pickup truck when Carson had the truck towed to the studio.
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Joseph Wapner was active in Jewish causes, including sitting on the board of a Jewish school.
20.
Joseph Wapner died from respiratory failure on February 26,2017, at his home in Los Angeles.
21.
Joseph Wapner is interred at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.