Gerald Sheindlin is, in fact, Mr. Judge Judy. Together, Judy and Jerry Sheindlin make up America's premiere (and perhaps only) judicial power couple.

Both were judges in real life before joining their shows (which is not always the case -- Judge Jerry's predecessor on "The People's Court," Ed Koch, was not a judge, though he was a lawyer and the former mayor of New York). Jerry was a judge in the New York Supreme Court, and Judy started out in the New York Criminal Court and then moved on to the family court system.

The two married in 1977, when they were still lawyers. They were both appointed judges a few years later, both by none other than Mayor Koch.

Judge Jerry picked up the "People's Court" gavel in 1999, at which point "Judge Judy" was already a daytime-TV hit. He joked at the time about the competition that could well up between them.

"I think that behind every great woman there is a man," Sheindlin told the "L.A. Times." "So I may be behind her now, but I also heard a rumor that behind every great man there is a woman. So we'll have to wait and see how it plays out."

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