Joseph A. Wapner (1916-2017)

The original judge of The People's Court heard his last case a long time ago, and I'll guess that a lot of you thought that Joseph A. Wapner had already passed on.

As it turns out, Wapner, who passed away Sunday at 97, had been long retired from the bench after a brief television comeback . Wapner and bailiff Rusty Burrell were lured back by Animal Planet for the two-season series, Judge Wapner's Animal Court (1998-2000), in response to People's Court having been revived by WB for syndication.

Here's a clip from 1992:



 Now, check out Animal Court:





You'll forgive the video quality of Animal Court, as it's been mostly lost to the mists of time. We'll take another look at Animal Court at a later date. The poster accidentally included a Crocodile Hunter clip, and that's something else we'll see down the road.

Rest in peace, your honor.