József Barsi: Difference between revisions

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'''József Istvan''' '''“Arizona Joe”<ref name="latimes" /> Barsi''' (November 26^th, 1932 – July 27^th, 1988) was a Hungarian-American plumbing contractor and banjo/fiddle musician<ref name="lundberg">[http://judithbarsi.dc-lundberg.net/ Judith Barsi in Memoriam]</ref> who was best known as the father of the child actress [[wikipedia:Judith Barsi|Judith Barsi]]. Burdened by low self-esteem, stemming from mockery over his Hungarian accent and the social rejection he suffered in Hungary, József developed a drinking problem and a paranoid personality which was to torment him throughout his life, culminating in him murdering his wife and daughter before taking his own life.

==Early life and marriages==

József was born on November 26^th, 1932; in a “[rough] industrial” area of Hungary,<ref name="latimes" /> during the reign of [[wikipedia:Miklós Horthy|Admiral Horthy]]. His surname indicates that his ancestors probably came from [[Wikipedia:Bars County|Bars]], modern day [[Wikipedia:Tekov|Tekov]] in [[Wikipedia:Slovakia|Slovakia]]. An [[wikipedia:Legitimacy (law)|illegitimate]] child, József never knew his father and suffered from social rejection and bullying by other children and from his own school teachers.<ref name="Documentary" /><ref name="agibarsi" /> His first daughter, Ági, later speculated that József resented his mother for allowing his father to abandon him, and consequently [[Misogyny|viewed all women as “whores”]].<ref name="agibarsi" />

At age 19, József [[wikipedia:Hungarian diaspora|fled]] his now [[wikipedia:People's Republic of Hungary|Communist-ruled homeland]] after the [[wikipedia:1956 Hungarian Revolution#Soviet intervention of 4 November|1956 Soviet occupation]]. He initially settled in [[wikipedia:France|France]] and married a fellow Hungarian refugee named Klara, with whom he had two children, a son named Barna (1957-1995), and a daughter named Ági (1958-2008). József soon developed a [[w:alcoholism|drinking problem]] and began to physically abuse his wife.<ref name="agibarsi">Barsi, Ági (1999), ''What will you do?'', A Better Life, ISBN 0967169399</ref>

After the family moved to New York in 1964, József [[Child Abuse|extended his abuse]] to his son Barna, prompting Klara to escape with the children to Arizona five years later. Although József attempted to reconcile himself with his family, Klara filed for divorce after he threw a cast-iron skillet at her in a drunken rage. Shortly after the divorce, József moved to California,<ref name="agibarsi" /> where he worked as a plumbing contractor. There, he met Maria Virovacz, a waitress in a Los Angeles restaurant known as a meeting place for immigrants.<ref name="latimes" />

==Domestic abuse==

Maria Barsi soon began grooming her daughter to become an actress.<ref name="latimes">Johnson, J. [http://articles.latimes.com/1988-08-07/local/me-382_1_child-abuse A Script of Fear : Repeated Threats by Father of Child Actress Carried to Tragic End], ''LA Times'' (August 7, 1988)</ref> At five, Judith was discovered at a skating rink.<ref name="latimes" /> She appeared in over 70 commercials and guest-starring roles on television.<ref name="latimes1">[http://articles.latimes.com/1988-08-23/local/me-919_1_child-abuse-files Local News in Brief : Child-Abuse Files Ordered Opened], ''LA Times'' (August 23, 1988)</ref>

After the incident, József reportedly stopped drinking but continued to threaten and abuse his wife and daughter. Before Judith left 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.”<ref name="latimes" /> Maria stated that József showed her where he kept his gasoline and warned her he intended to burn the house down if she and Judith left. He reportedly hid a telegram informing Maria that a relative in Hungary had died, to prevent her and Judith from leaving America.<ref name="sherry">[http://articles.latimes.com/1988-09-18/news/vw-2980_1_family-tragedy A Lesson Learned From Family Tragedy], ''LA Times'' (September 18, 1988)</ref> Judith told her best friend that József, in a fit of rage, once threw pots and pans at her in the kitchen, giving her a nosebleed.<ref name="NE" /> Because of her father's abuse, Judith began putting on weight<ref name="sherry" /> and plucking out her eyelashes and pulling out her cat's whiskers.<ref name="latimes" /> After breaking down in front of her agent during a singing audition for ''All Dogs Go to Heaven'', Judith was taken by Maria to a child psychologist, who identified severe physical and emotional abuse and reported her findings to Child Protective Services.<ref name="latimes" />

==Aftermath==

==References==

[[Category:Deceased]]

[[Category:Tragic]]

[[Category:Psychopath]]

[[Category:Destroyer of Innocence]]

[[Category:Delusional]]

[[Category:Artistic]]

[[Category:Thugs]]

[[Category:Wolves in sheep's clothing‏‎]]

[[Category:Insecure]]

[[Category:Paranoid]]

[[Category:Liars]]

[[Category:Hungary]]