Before Hey Arnold's stellar voice cast of actual 9 year olds voicing the 4th grade characters.
Before 12 year old Aaron Dimuske's heart-wrenching performance as Alphonse Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist. There was another child actor whose presence was undeniable, and whose voice lives in on in animation fans forever. Judith Barsi was an up and coming child actress whose rising net worth while something impressive, was close to nothing compared to the disturbingly sad life she shared with her parents. And today on the 25th July, where the young actress would have been able to start a family of her own; today we are mourning the horrible loss of what could have been an icon in the film/animation industry.
Judith Eva Barsi was born June 6th 1978 to Jozef and Maria (nee. Virovacz) Barsi; Jozef and Maria were both immigrants from Hungary that fled the country after being occupied by the Soviets in the late 1950s. The two met then married in Los Angeles, shortly after which Judith was born. Maria had made it her mission to groom Judith into a child actress, training her in perfect posture, poise, and voice. Her efforts seemingly paid off as a 5 year old Judith was spotted by talent agents at a local skating rink. Part of her success and appeal was her short stature and that her youth appearance allowed her to play child roles 3 years younger than what she actually was. Judith became an instant success, having been in over 70 commercials throughout the 80's; roles in some of the biggest movies of the era such as "Jaws 2: The Revenge" and "The Land Before Time" where she provided the voice of the youngest character Ducky. (known for the catchphrase "Yep Yep Yep") She also made appearances in popular sitcoms like "Growing Pains", "The Tracey Ullman Show", "St. Elsewhere" and many other memorable shows. Her rising success brought her family enough money to move to a better neighborhood, hopefully living happily every after... or so we would believe.
Judith's house life was a complete contrast of what her on stage life was; a dark prison where her father Jozef played warden to a key. Jozef was abusive, both physically and emotionally, threatening to kill his wife Maria and Judith multiple times. He had even threatened Judith who was on her way to another acting gig; saying that he would kill her if she tried to stay on set. Family and friends tried their best to try and cool things off in the Barsi home, but to no avail. Jozef was a madman, and on the evening of July 25th 1988, he finally carried out his threats and shot both Judith and Maria, before taking his own life two days later. She was only 10 years old. Her last well known film was "All Dogs Go to Heaven" another animated film by Don Bluth, director of "The Land Before Time." Bluth would later speak about Barsi as someone who understood direction very well for her age, he also expressed a desire to be a mainstay of voice actors at his studio.
I will not go into deep details of the lifestyle of the Barsi home; this is not the point of this post. But I use this as a cautionary tale to all parents. (young and old) Barsi's story could be compared to life of Michael Jackson, the story of being pushed to success by family and shown no sense of love and care by their fathers. Judith's story, however; is the darkest tale of a child actor I've ever heard and sadly to say, I wish I knew less than I did. But again this is one of the many tales of child abuse that we should hear to better ourselves for the future. Parents (especially those with kids in showbiz) need to have their child as their number one priority; their safety, their stability, their well being, must be the first thing you should think about. Parents (Fathers and Mothers) need to love their children and show them that deep immense love at all stages in life. Whatever problems you may face, be it at work, be it in the marriage or separation, or within your own self, don't let it go another day. Every step you take towards positive change can lead to a happier story than one that befell the Barsi family.
Before 12 year old Aaron Dimuske's heart-wrenching performance as Alphonse Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist. There was another child actor whose presence was undeniable, and whose voice lives in on in animation fans forever. Judith Barsi was an up and coming child actress whose rising net worth while something impressive, was close to nothing compared to the disturbingly sad life she shared with her parents. And today on the 25th July, where the young actress would have been able to start a family of her own; today we are mourning the horrible loss of what could have been an icon in the film/animation industry.
Judith Eva Barsi was born June 6th 1978 to Jozef and Maria (nee. Virovacz) Barsi; Jozef and Maria were both immigrants from Hungary that fled the country after being occupied by the Soviets in the late 1950s. The two met then married in Los Angeles, shortly after which Judith was born. Maria had made it her mission to groom Judith into a child actress, training her in perfect posture, poise, and voice. Her efforts seemingly paid off as a 5 year old Judith was spotted by talent agents at a local skating rink. Part of her success and appeal was her short stature and that her youth appearance allowed her to play child roles 3 years younger than what she actually was. Judith became an instant success, having been in over 70 commercials throughout the 80's; roles in some of the biggest movies of the era such as "Jaws 2: The Revenge" and "The Land Before Time" where she provided the voice of the youngest character Ducky. (known for the catchphrase "Yep Yep Yep") She also made appearances in popular sitcoms like "Growing Pains", "The Tracey Ullman Show", "St. Elsewhere" and many other memorable shows. Her rising success brought her family enough money to move to a better neighborhood, hopefully living happily every after... or so we would believe.
Judith's house life was a complete contrast of what her on stage life was; a dark prison where her father Jozef played warden to a key. Jozef was abusive, both physically and emotionally, threatening to kill his wife Maria and Judith multiple times. He had even threatened Judith who was on her way to another acting gig; saying that he would kill her if she tried to stay on set. Family and friends tried their best to try and cool things off in the Barsi home, but to no avail. Jozef was a madman, and on the evening of July 25th 1988, he finally carried out his threats and shot both Judith and Maria, before taking his own life two days later. She was only 10 years old. Her last well known film was "All Dogs Go to Heaven" another animated film by Don Bluth, director of "The Land Before Time." Bluth would later speak about Barsi as someone who understood direction very well for her age, he also expressed a desire to be a mainstay of voice actors at his studio.
I will not go into deep details of the lifestyle of the Barsi home; this is not the point of this post. But I use this as a cautionary tale to all parents. (young and old) Barsi's story could be compared to life of Michael Jackson, the story of being pushed to success by family and shown no sense of love and care by their fathers. Judith's story, however; is the darkest tale of a child actor I've ever heard and sadly to say, I wish I knew less than I did. But again this is one of the many tales of child abuse that we should hear to better ourselves for the future. Parents (especially those with kids in showbiz) need to have their child as their number one priority; their safety, their stability, their well being, must be the first thing you should think about. Parents (Fathers and Mothers) need to love their children and show them that deep immense love at all stages in life. Whatever problems you may face, be it at work, be it in the marriage or separation, or within your own self, don't let it go another day. Every step you take towards positive change can lead to a happier story than one that befell the Barsi family.
RIP Judith Eva Barsi
1978-1988
Sources:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Barsi : Photo Credit Only
