'People's Court' Judge Joseph Wapner dead at 97

Joseph Wapner, the judge who rose to fame on TV's "The People's Court," has died. He was 97.

"The People's Court," which debuted in 1981, was TV's first reality courtroom series. Wapner presided over the court for 12 seasons during the show's first run in syndication, which ended in 1993. The series inspired many other shows, such as "Judge Judy" and "Hot Bench."

Wapner later appeared on "Judge Wapner's Animal Court," which ran for two seasons.

The jurist served as a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge for 18 years before retiring in 1979.

Judge Wapner became a pop culture figure, most memorably in the 1988 film "Rain Man," in which Dustin Hoffman's character, an autistic man, has a constant need to stick to his routines, which include watching The People's Court." Whenever it seems that he will miss the show, he repeats the time remaining until the show airs -- for example, "One minute to Wapner" -- again and again. Wapner also occasionally appeared on TV shows as himself.

In November 2009, Wapner received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. A day later, in honor of his 90th birthday, he returned to "The People's Court" in a one-time-only appearance as a guest judge.

In a 2005 interview with the Archive of American Television, Wapner said he'd like to be "remembered as a judge who acted as a judge should ... I want to be remembered in a kindly way, in a positive way, someone who had an influence on the law, the way people act, the way people should act."