Judge Judy Announcer Jerry Bishop Dies at the Age of 84

Robyn Merrett
·2 min read

Judge Judy announcer Jerry Bishop has died. He was 84.

He died on Tuesday of heart disease in Los Angeles, the show's publicist Gary Rosen confirms in a statement to PEOPLE.

Bishop has served as the announcer for the hit show since it's first season in 1996.

Speaking of her longtime colleague, Sheindlin said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE: "Jerry Bishop has been the voice of our program for 24 years."

"Everybody loved him. He had a golden heart and generous spirit. I adored him and will miss him," Sheindlin added.

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Bishop remained the announcer on the show up until his death.

In addition to his work on Judge Judy, which is set to end next year, Bishop has served as announcer for a number of TV shows including, the 1983 series The $10,000 Pyramid and the 2007 project Destination Truth, Rosen shared. He was also the announcer for The Disney Channel for 15 years, according to his IMDb.

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Bishop even appeared on a 2017 episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm as himself.

Born in Hartford, CT, Bishop earned his degree in broadcast journalism from Emerson College in the 1950s.

Before his career as an announcer, Bishop started out at radio station WDRC in Hartford, Rosen revealed. He also worked at radio station WRKO in Boston before moving to Los Angeles.

Judge Judy

Once in California, Bishop worked at a number of Los Angeles radio stations including, KLAC, KFI and KGIL.

Bishop also did the narration on commercials for brands such as Budweiser and Burger King.

Bishop is survived by his daughters Karen Rosenbloom, Michelle Carriker and Stephanie Blume.

His wife Velma died in 2007. They were married for 51 years, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In the wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Bishop has already been laid to rest in a private funeral service with immediate family, Rosen said in the statement.

For those who want to support Bishop, his family has asked fans to donate to the Chabad of Bel Air on his behalf.