Executive producer of “Judge Judy,” Randy Douthit has found himself in real life court battles as he has been sued twice by former staff members who once worked on the show.
They claim everything from wrongful termination, discrimination, and even simple mismanagement. Real life is sometimes not as fun as the television world makes it seem.
In The Crowd
Who keeps Judge Judy on TV? Who watches her shows day in and day out. It's mostly women who watch Judy on their television sets everyday, about 75% to 25%.
The breakdown as of February 2014 said that the audience consisted mostly of older women, home during the day, as well as blacks, and Latinos.
Lovers Quarrel
Judy's own popularity led to the old producers of "the People's Court" to reach out to her husband, Judge Jerry Sheindlin, to replace their former star Ed Koch on the other popular court genre program. Jerry premiered in the show's 15th season in 1999.
This led to a battle in the ratings between famous husband and more famous wife. Husband was no match for wife in the end though. After only four seasons Jerry was replaced by new star, Marilyn Milian.
Style Points
Judge Judy is known for her style as well as her severity, having donned her lace collar at the very moment she was appointed to the bench. She got as many fashion points as any judge could. Back before taking on TV, Judy and her husband took a two-week vacation to Greece to celebrate her new job. The white lace collar was a purchase on the trip, from a local kiosk and craft vendor.
The inspiration came from the white shirt collars many male Judges had poking out of their own black robes. The white lace might also make people get the wrong impression, “That nice little lady with the lace collar sitting behind the bench couldn’t hurt a fly.
A Decade
A decade after her first segment on 60 minutes, in 1993, Judy again appeared on the program in 2003. In 2003, Judge Judy appeared on 60 Minutes again. She told viewers, “I have a contract with the company to do the program through the 2006 season. At that point, we will have produced this program for 10 years.
Right now, I would be satisfied with a good 10-year run. I think that would really be phenomenal. It would be lovely if we could end on a high note and for me to say ’10 years and I still had people watching and I had a second career that was a blast’.”