What Happened To Bailiff Byrd On Judge Judy? Bailiff Byrd was born on November 29, 1957, in Brooklyn, New York, with the full name Petri Hawkins-Byrd. A bailiff is a designation given to a person, and the bailiff has sufficient authority to maintain order in a place. And for Byrd, the locale was Judy’s courtroom.
Besides being a courtroom bailiff, Byrd is an actor, voice actor, writer, and the New York State Court Officer. Yes, he is an actual court officer with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Minds from Jhon Jay College of Criminal Justice. He has been interested in both acting and law since he was a child, and he met Judy while working in the family court in Manhattan in 1986.
Being funny from a young age, Byrd didn’t take much time bonding with people and hence, befriended quickly with Judy, and they worked together for three years. Before joining Judge Judy Sheindlin’s show in 1996, he was a Special Deputy U.S. Marshal for two years (1990 – 1992) and then a student counselor in a school in California for four years (1992 – 1996).
He is 65 and still going great with his acting career. But the question remains, what happened to him after the show ended? Why didn’t he get a chance in Judge Judy Spinoff: Judy Justice? Let’s the what the answers are, and his fans were disappointed.
What Happened To Bailiff Petri Hawkins-Byrd On Judge Judy?
According to IMDb, Byrd stayed with Judge Judy for a total of 25 Seasons and 7281 Episodes, more than Judy herself, who appeared in 7247 Episodes. Staying with the show for so long gave him the title of longest court show bailiff in history. Over the years, he gained a lot of fans and made great friends.
When Judge Judy got canceled in July 2021, Byrd had a guest appearance in the soap opera, The Bold and the Beautiful in August 2021. Fans were excited to see Byrd and Judy again in the spinoff show Judy Justice. But fans were jumbled after seeing an entirely new cast except for Judy. In December 2020, Byrd said he would be interested in joining the new show.
In response to the outraged fans, Byrd disclosed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that he wasn’t invited to join the show’s cast. From what he said, Judy didn’t ask him because of his high salary compared to the new bailiff Kevin Rasco. He didn’t get a chance to negotiate, and it seemed that he might have been ready to work at a lower salary in respect of decades worth of their relationship.
Byrd seemed upset with Judy’s decision, especially to the point that she didn’t even consider asking him. Byrd had to reach out to clarify if he had some role; being together through ups and downs for almost 30 years gets to a person. In response to Byrd’s interview, Judy said that she just wanted an entirely new cast to make it a change for the audience.
What’s Next For Bailiff Petri Hawkins-Byrd?
Fans were unhappy on both sides, and the way Byrd displayed his dismay, made it feel that things would end between him and Judy. There is no proper update on their conversations after this event. But on April 28, 2021, Amazon Freevee (former IMDb TV) announced a new courtroom show named Tribunal.
With Judy Sheildlin as the creator and executive producer, the show will contain a panel of three judges – Judge Patricia DiMango, Judge Tanya, and Adam Levy (son of Judy Sheildin). And Petri Hawkins-Byrd as the bailiff. In a video, Byrd said that he received a call from Judy’s team at Freevee asking if he was interested in the idea.
From what he said, the show’s release date had to be in the fall, but 2022 is over, so let’s see when it comes out. He seemed excited about working for three judges, “a lot of running,” he said. Let’s wish him luck for his upcoming journey, and hope he and his family have good days ahead.
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