LOS ANGELES, Jan. 2 – Retired Superior Court Judge Laurence J. Rittenband, who once vowed to remain on the bench until director Roman Polanski returned to the United States for sentencing on a child sex charge, has died. He was 88.

Rittenband died of cancer Thursday at the West Los Angeles home of his longtime companion, Madeline Bessmer, Ms. Bessmer said Saturday.

Rittenband presided over the case of Polanski, the film director who fled to France in 1978 rather than appear for sentencing after he’d been convicted of having unlawful intercourse with a 13-year-old girl.

Despite his vow to sit on the bench until Polanski returned, Rittenband stepped down in 1989, saying, “I can’t wait that long.” But he said he’d never forget the director.

“I’ll quote a Gilbert and Sullivan opera: ‘I’ve got him on my list. I’ve got him on my list. He won’t be missed. He won’t be missed,’ ” the judge said.

Rittenband, whose legal career spanned 60 years, presided over Elvis Presley’s divorce, Marlon Brando’s child custody battle and a paternity suit against Cary Grant.

His other prominent cases included those of the Billionaire Boys Club murderers; the drifter who attacked actress Theresa Saldana; and Frederick Jerome Thomas, killer of Sarai Ribicoff, niece of a U.S. senator.

Former Los Angeles County District Attorney Robert Philibosian recalled how Rittenband once dealt with Charles Manson, convicted in the 1969 Sharon Tate-LaBianca slayings, during a court hearing.

“I’m not going to face this court,” Manson said, turning his back to the bench.

“I will not proceed unless you face this court,” warned Rittenband. “You will turn around now.” And Manson did, Philibosian recalled.

Rittenband was known for scowling at witnesses whose testimony he believed was suspect and for his impatience with ill-prepared attorneys. He would sometimes cross-examine witnesses himself if he felt lawyers had overlooked important testimony.

Rittenband graduated from Stuyvesant High School in New York at age 15 and New York University at 19 after studying law by night.

Rittenband is survived by two nephews and two nieces, Bessmer said. No memorial service was planned.