[Deathwatch] Rusty Burrell, Ex-TV Bailiff, 76

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Again, very special thanks to a reader for finding this (his third in 3
days).

Ex-TV Bailiff Rusty Burrell Dies 
Fri Apr 19, 9:38 PM ET 

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Rusty Burrell, a retired sheriff's deputy who later
served as bailiff on the reality television show "The People's Court,"
died Monday at his home in Rosemead. He was 76.

Burrell, who spent 25 of his 31 years in law enforcement in the court
system, was suffering from lung cancer, the Los Angeles Times reported
Friday.

The white-haired lawman was a real-life bailiff during a number of high
profile trials, including cult-killer Charles Manson and Patty Hearst,
the newspaper heiress kidnapped by radicals who was later accused of
joining their crimes.

Burrell often worked with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joseph
Wapner, who was chosen to preside over "The People's Court," dispensing
stern lectures with his settlement decisions.

When Burrell retired from the sheriff's department in 1981, he was
hired to be the bailiff on the syndicated show, which featured real
people trying to settle small claims court grievances on television.

Their tenure on the series ended in 1993, but the two friends reunited
several years later to work on "Judge Wapner's Animal Court" on cable's
Animal Planet network.