How much is Petri Hawkins Byrd worth?
| Net Worth: | $3 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | TV personality |
| Date of Birth: | November 29, 1957 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 1.88 m |
About Petri Hawkins Byrd
Petri Hawkins-Byrd, also known as Bailiff Byrd or simply Byrd, is an American court show bailiff, television personality, social media personality, actor, voice actor, writer, and former New York State Court Officer. He was born Petri Adonis Byrd on November 29, 1957, in Brooklyn, New York.
Byrd is most known for playing the sidekick Bailiff Byrd for the entire length of the Nielsen top-rated courtroom television program Judge Judy, which spanned 25 seasons. Byrd is television’s longest-serving court show bailiff in history thanks to his time on Judge Judy. Since October 2018, Byrd has co-hosted “Bonding with Byrd,” a chat show-like series on Facebook and YouTube with his wife Makita Bond. A new episode is published every Tuesday.
On November 29, 1957, Petri Adonis Byrd was born in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights district. Byrd’s father thought he was so funny and fascinating as a boy that he and his friends frequently called him up from prison just to hear him impersonate celebrities. Byrd took to comedy and impressions from a young age. Growing up, Flip Wilson, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Ed Sullivan, Bill Cosby, and other superstars were idolized and emulated by Byrd. The family was kept together in the meantime by Byrd’s stay-at-home mother. According to Byrd, his mother was a strong disciplinarian who insisted that her kids finish school and treat others with respect.
According to Byrd, his childhood “escapes” consisted of going to school, reading, watching television, and watching movies—anything that would transport me from the environment I was in to a world that might be.
Following his graduation from Brooklyn’s Eastern District High School, Byrd enrolled in Hostos Community College in the Bronx.
Despite being lured to the concept of acting, Byrd had grown to be interested in law.
His desire to abolish racially discriminatory practices led to his interest in law as a result of his boyhood exposure to Jim Crow laws that were still in effect and the civil rights movement. In the early 1980s, he began working as a court officer for the Brooklyn circuit of the New York City court system.
While studying John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 1986, he was also moved to the Manhattan family court division. Byrd first encountered Judge Judy Sheindlin, the Manhattan Supervising Family Court Judge, in this capacity. From 1986 until 1989, Byrd served as a courtroom officer for a variety of judges, including Sheindlin, in the Manhattan family court system. Byrd recalled the occasions when he was tasked with serving as Sheindlin’s bailiff in the Manhattan family court system “In her courtroom, I never felt bored. She often seemed relieved to have me present because the plaintiffs didn’t always appreciate her direct approach.”
Byrd graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from John Jay College in 1989.
Byrd’s personal life had a dramatic upheaval the same year: he and his wife, Felicia, divorced and she fled to California with the couple’s children. The couple spent five months attending cross-country relationship counseling in an effort to restart their marriage. Byrd relocated to San Mateo, California, a year later in 1990 in order to reconcile with his wife and rejoin with his family. He agreed to work there as a Special Deputy U.S. Marshal. Byrd changed careers again in 1992, taking a position as a student counselor at Cupertino, California’s Monta Vista High School, where he worked until 1996. At this time, Byrd had a second job delivering pizzas.
