Judith Barsi

Judith Barsi
Barsi's portrait
Born	Judith Eva Barsi June 6, 1978(1978-06-06) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	July 25, 1988(1988-07-25) (aged 10) Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Homicide
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1984–1988
Parents	József and Maria Barsi (Deceased)

Judith Eva Barsi (June 6, 1978 – July 25, 1988) was an American child actress. She was small in stature and often played characters younger than her actual age. After years of physical and mental abuse, Barsi and her mother were shot and killed by her father, József, in a murder–suicide.

Life and career

Barsi was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and was the daughter of Hungarian immigrants József and Maria Barsi, who had both fled the 1956 Soviet occupation of Hungary and then emigrated to Los Angeles, shortly before the birth of their daughter. Maria Barsi soon began grooming her daughter to become an actress.

At the age of five, Barsi was discovered at a skating rink. She went on to appear in more than 70 commercials and guest-starring roles on television. She also appeared in several films, including Jaws: The Revenge, and provided the voice for the character of Ducky in The Land Before Time (1988). As she was short for her age (she stood 3 ft 8 in (1.12 m) at age 10), Barsi began receiving hormone injections at UCLA to encourage her growth.

By the time she entered fourth grade, she was earning an estimated $100,000 a year, which helped her buy the family a three-bedroom house in the West Hills section of Los Angeles.

Parental abuse

Judith's parents met at a restaurant in Los Angeles, well known as a meeting place for immigrants, in which Maria worked as a waitress. József was a plumber, had problems with alcohol, and was arrested three times for driving while intoxicated.

As Barsi's career success increased, her father József became increasingly abusive, jealous and paranoid. He would routinely threaten to kill himself, his wife and daughter. In December 1986, Maria reported the threats to the police and also reported that József had hit her in the face and choked her. After police found no physical signs of abuse, Maria eventually decided not to press charges against József.

After the incident, József reportedly stopped drinking but continued to threaten and abuse his wife and daughter. Before leaving to shoot Jaws: The Revenge in the Bahamas, József threatened Judith with a knife, telling her, "If you decide not to come back, I will cut your throat." Due to her father's abuse, Barsi began exhibiting disturbing behavior which included plucking out all her eyelashes and pulling out her cat's whiskers. After breaking down in front of her agent, Barsi was taken by Maria to a child psychologist, who identified severe physical and emotional abuse and reported her findings to Child Protective Services.

The investigation was dropped after Maria assured the case worker that she intended to start divorce proceedings against József and that she and Judith were going to move into a Panorama City apartment she had recently rented as a daytime haven away from József. Friends urged Maria to follow through with the plan, but she resisted reportedly because she did not want to lose the family home and belongings.

Death

Judith was last seen on the morning of July 25, 1988, when she rode her bike on her street. On that same night, József shot Judith in the head while she was asleep in her room. Maria, hearing the gunshot, rushed down the hall, where József met her and shot her, as well. József then poured gasoline on the bodies and set them on fire. He later went into the garage and shot himself in the head with a .32 caliber pistol.

Legacy

Barsi's headstone with Barsi's marker from 2004.

On August 9, 1988, Barsi and her mother were interred in unmarked graves at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles. In June 2004, a fund was set up by Barsi's fan club to purchase headstones for their graves. Barsi's marker, placed on August 23, 2004, reads "In Memory of the Lovely Judith Eva Barsi *Our Concrete Angel* Yep! Yep! Yep!" in reference to Martina McBride's song about child abuse and Barsi's character Ducky's catchphrase from The Land Before Time.

Barsi's final film, All Dogs Go to Heaven, in which she voices the orphaned Anne-Marie, was released in 1989, a year and a half after her murder.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	Fatal Vision	Kimberly (age 3)	Miniseries
1985	Kids Don't Tell	Jennifer Ryan	Television movie
1985	Do You Remember Love	Kathleen	Television movie
1985	The New Twilight Zone	Gertie	Segment: "A Little Peace and Quiet"
1985	There Were Times, Dear	Molly Reed	Television movie
1985	The Fall Guy	Little Girl	Episode: "Escape Claus"
1986	Remington Steele	Laurie Beth Piper	Episode: "Suburban Steele"
1986	Punky Brewster	Anna	2 episodes
1986	Trapper John, M.D.	Lindsay Christmas	Episode: "Life, Death and Dr. Christmas"
1986	Cheers	Child #1	Episode: "Relief Bartender"
1986	Cagney & Lacey	Shauna Bard	Episode: "Disenfranchised"
1986	The New Gidget	Little Girl	Episode: "It's Only Rock & Roll"
1986	Eye of the Tiger	Jennifer Matthews
1986	The Love Boat	Christmas angel	Episode: "The Christmas Cruise: Part 2"
1987	Destination America	Amy	Television movie
1987	Slam Dance	Bean
1987	Jaws: The Revenge	Thea Brody
1987	The Tracey Ullman Show	Little Girl	Episode #2.3
1988	The Tracey Ullman Show	Karen	Episode #2.17
1988	St. Elsewhere	Debbie Oppenheimer	Episode: "The Abby Singer Show"
1988	ABC Afterschool Special	Billie Foster	Episode: "A Family Again"
1988	The Land Before Time	Ducky	Voice
1988	Growing Pains	Young Carol	Episodes "Graduation Day"
1989	All Dogs Go to Heaven	Anne-Marie	Voice
1992	Growing Pains	Young Carol	Episode: "The Last Picture Show, part 2" (flashback only)

External links

• Judith Barsi at the Internet Movie Database
• Judith Barsi In Memoriam
• The Official Judith Barsi Memorial Site
• Judith Barsi at Find a Grave