A Date with Judy A Date with Judy A Date with Judy is a comedy radio series aimed at a teenage audience which ran from 1941 to 1950. The show began as a summer replacement for Bob Hope's show, sponsored by Pepsodent and airing on NBC from June 24 to September 16, 1941, with 14-year-old Ann Gillis in the title role. Mercedes McCambridge played Judy's girl friend. Dellie Ellis (later known as Joan Lorring) portrayed Judy Foster when the series returned the next summer (June 23 – September 15, 1942). Louise Erickson, then 15, took over the role the following summer (June 30 –
Judge Judy mid-rank of the 159 syndicated shows on the air. At that time, it was never expected that the show's ratings would ever compete with highly successful daytime TV shows of the time, such as "The Oprah Winfrey Show", "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" and "The Jerry Springer Show". According to "Biography"s documentary film on Sheindlin, "Judge Judy: Sitting in Judgment" (aired February 21, 2000), producers of "Judge Judy" were disappointed that the show was barely making it on the radar. However, it did not take long for the court show to pick up momentum as "Judge Judy" rose to a 2.1