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Who is Judge Reinhold?
American actor, producer and director Edward Ernest ‘Judge’ Reinhold Jr. was born in Wilmington, Delaware USA, on 21 May 1957, making Gemini his zodiac sign. His paternal grandparents were German immigrants, and he’s of Irish descent from his mother’s side.
He has over 110 acting credits but is probably still known best for portraying Detective Billy Rosewood, one of the main characters in the 1984 action crime comedy movie “Beverly Hills Cop”, which also starred Eddie Murphy and John Ashton, and was directed by Martin Brest. It follows a Detroit police officer as he’s investigating a murder, and the movie won four of its nine award nominations, including an Oscar nomination for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.
Judge is still today active in the film industry, and is currently shooting for the upcoming movie “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley”.
Education and early life
Judge was raised in Fredericksburg, Virginia by his father Edward Ernest Reinhold who was a trial lawyer and who passed away aged 70 in 1977, and mother Regina Celeste (nee Fleming) who’s today 100 years old. Because Judge hasn’t mentioned having siblings, most of his fans believe that he’s an only child.
He studied at Alexis I. DuPont High School and became passionate about acting during his time there, appearing in nearly all the plays performed at the school; Judge and his family eventually moved to Martin County, Florida and he matriculated from a local high school in 1975.
He then continued his education at Mary Washington College, prior to switching to Palm Beach Community College; Judge transferred again, this time to University of North Carolina’s School of the Arts, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1980.
Roles in TV series
Judge’s debut TV series role was playing Jeff Gordon in the 1979 episode “Amazon Hot Wax” of the action adventure fantasy “Wonder Woman”, and the following years saw him appear in an episode of the action crime adventure “Magnum, P. I.”, the drama “Insight” and the comedy “Open All Night”.
He had only one other TV series role in the ‘80s, playing Jed in the 1989 episode “The Sad Professor” of the comedy “Trying Times”, which starred Teri Garr and Rosanna Arquette, and was created by Jon S. Denny; it follows the everyday lives of a group of people.
The first half of the ‘90s saw Judge appear in an episode of the comedy “Seinfeld”, the western mini-series “Lonesome Dove: The Series”, and the family comedy “Adventures in Wonderland”. In 1996, he starred as Steve Kessler in the comedy “Secret Service Guy”, which also starred Finn Carter and Michael McKean, and was created by David Silverman; it follows the life of a secret service agent.
In 2003, Judge played the main character Harry O’Keefe in all eight episodes of the comedy “The O’Keefes”, which also starred Kirsten Nelson and Joseph Cross, and was created by Mark O’Keefe; it follows the O’Keefe children who were homeschooled, and have now begun experiencing the outside world. The remainder of the 2000s saw him appear in an episode of the comedy “The King of Queens”, the crime comedy “Monk”, and the fantasy mystery “The Dead Zone”.
Judge has since had only a single TV series role, playing Davey in two episodes (2016) of the popular adventure comedy “The Detour”, which starred Jason Jones and Natalie Zea, and was created by Samantha Bee. It follows a father who’s taken his family on a road trip across the USA, the series aired from 2016 through 2019 and won two of its seven award nominations.
Roles in movies
Judge’s debut film role was playing Bear in the 1979 crime drama “Survival of Dana”, and he could then have been seen appearing in the 1980 action adventure “Running Scared”, the 1981 war comedy “Stripes” and the 1982 horror mystery comedy “Pandemonium”.
The year 1982 also saw him play Brad Hamilton in the critically acclaimed comedy “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”, which starred Jennifer Jason Leigh and Sean Penn, and was directed by Amy Heckerling. It follows a group of students attending a high school in Southern California as they’re dealing with drugs and sex, and the film won one of its two award nominations. What also marked the ‘80s for Judge was playing Gerald Hopkins in the fantasy horror comedy “Gremlins”, which starred Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates, and was directed by Joe Dante. It follows a young adult who’s inadvertently released a horde of monsters on his small town, and the movie won eight of its 14 award nominations. The remainder of the ‘80s saw Judge appear in the 1984 romantic action comedy “Roadhouse 66”, the 1987 action crime comedy “Beverly Hills Cop II” and the 1989 comedy “The New Homeowner’s Guide to Happiness”.
In 1994, Judge starred as Neal in the family comedy “The Santa Clause”, which also starred Tim Allen and was directed by John Pasquin. It follows a man who’s caused Santa to fall off his roof, and has now magically taken his place; the film won two of its 11 award nominations. Judge appeared in a couple of popular movies in the remainder of the ‘90s, such as the 1997 action adventure comedy “Runaway Car”, the 1997 comedy “Family Plan” and the 1998 crime comedy “Homegrown”.
The year 2001 saw him star as Richard Newton in the family comedy “Beethoven’s 4th”, which also starred Julia Sweeney and Joe Pichler, and was directed by David Mickey Evans. It follows dog Beethoven which has been switched with another dog, and the film was nominated for a Video Premiere Award for Best Supporting Actress, for Julie Sweeney. What also marked the 2000s for Judge was playing Carl in the 2004 fantasy horror thriller “The Hollow”, which starred Kaley Cuoco and Kevin Zegers, and was directed by Kyle Newman. It follows a group of teenagers who’ve disappeared in a graveyard on Halloween, and the film was nominated for two awards. The remainder of the decade saw Judge appear in the 2006 adventure family comedy “The Santa Clause 3: The Escape”, the 2008 comedy “Swing Vote” and the 2009 family comedy “Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts”.
In 2015, he played Dr. Greg Byrne in the drama “I Am Potential”, which starred Burgess Jenkins and Jimmy Bellinger, and was written and directed by Zach Meiners; it follows a father as he’s helping his blind and wheel-chair bound son.
Judge’s three most recent film roles have been in the comedy “Highly Functional”, the action crime comedy “Bad Grandmas” and the family comedy “Four Christmases and a Wedding”, all released in 2017.
Other credits
Judge produced and directed the 2006 historical documentary movie “Be Still”.
He received special thanks for the 1999 short documentary movie “Reliving Our Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and the 2014 short horror comedy movie “Invaders”.
Some of Judge’s recent talk-show appearances have been in “VH-1: Where Are They Now?”, “Revealed with Jules Asner” and “Biography”.
Awards and nominations
Judge was nominated for a 1994 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, for his performance in “Seinfeld”.
Love life and wife
Judge has married twice. His first wife was American actress and casting director Carrie Frazier; they met while working together on the 1982 movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”, and Carrie’s perhaps known best for having worked as a casting director on the 1994 romantic family drama “Little Women”. Judge and Carrie married on 1 November 1985, but divorced little more than a year later.
Since 8 January 2000, he’s been married to his second wife Amy Reinhold; she’s a screenwriter and director, and is perhaps known best for having directed the 2006 historical documentary movie “Be Still”. They have a daughter Hayley Reinhold together, born in 2012.
There are no other women whom Judge has been with, that the public knows about; he’s married to his second wife Amy Reinhold as of June 2023 and they have a daughter together.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Judge was still a baby when he was nicknamed ‘Judge’, because of his judge-like and stern looks.
He’s a deeply religious Christian and goes to church every week.
Judge was arrested on 8 December 2016 at Dallas Love Field Airport for objecting to a patdown by security; he spent 10 hours behind bars.
He’s an accomplished whistler.
Judge worked at a frozen yogurt shop prior to succeeding in the film industry, and once served famous American actress Angie Dickinson.
Judge loves to listen to rock ‘n’ roll music, and some of his favorite musicians are Elvis Presley, Ray Charles and Little Richard.
One of his favorite actors is Leslie Nielsen, and some of Judge’s favorite movies include “Creepshow”, “Forbidden Planet” and “Airplane!”
Height, eyes and wealth
Judge’s age is 66. He has brown hair and eyes, is 6ft 2ins (1.88m) tall and weighs around 200lbs (92kgs).
Judge’s net worth’s been estimated at over $2.5 million as of June 2023.
