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The Reader’s Notebook: Joseph Wapner

Joseph Wapner, star of the television show The People's Court on Oct. 22, 1986.
Galbraith/AP
Joseph Wapner, star of the television show The People's Court on Oct. 22, 1986.

Joseph Albert Wapner was an American judge and television personality. He is best known as the first presiding judge of the ongoing reality court show The People's Court. The show's first run in syndication, with Judge Wapner presiding as judge, lasted from 1981 to 1993, for 12 seasons and 2,484 episodes.