RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Good morning, I'm Rachel Martin. And if you were a child of the '80s, this music meant only one thing. Judge Wapner was in the house and on your TV. Joseph Wapner was the mild-mannered judge who served over "The People's Court" for more than a decade. He died on Sunday at the age of 97. According to a 1989 poll, only 9 percent of Americans surveyed could name the chief justice on the Supreme Court. Fifty-four percent knew Wapner was the guy laying down the law on "The People's Court." It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.