Divorce Court is a judge show about cases which only involve
divorcing couples. Out of the shows currently airing in the court-themed genre,
Divorce Court is the oldest. The series has lived three lives in
syndication, from 1957 to 1969, from 1985 to 1992 and currently since 1999.
The earliest version had a total of twelve seasons, running from
1957 to
1969, with Judge
Voltaire Perkins presiding and
Colin Male as the courtroom announcer. A second version debuted in the spring of
1985, with Judge
William B. Keene deciding cases and
Jim Peck, the former game show host as the courtroom reporter and announcer; this version ran for seven seasons until 1992.
Judge Keene was the presiding judge at the murder trial of
Charles Manson from December 1969 to April 1970 when he was replaced due to a motion of prejudice filed by Manson and was accepted by Judge Keene.
[Charles Manson Trial Timeline. CharlieManson.com. Retrieved 30 April 2008.] The current version began in
1999, featuring Judge
Mablean Ephriam from 1999 to 2006, and Judge
Lynn Toler beginning in September 2006. Altogether,
Divorce Court has had a total of twenty-nine seasons and is the longest-running court show. It has also more
judges than any other court show, and has been revived more than any other court show.