József Barsi: Difference between revisions

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==Early life and marriages==

[[File:Jozsef,_Klara,_Agi_&_Barna.png|thumb|József with his first wife, Klara, and their two children, Ági (left) and Barna (right).]]

József was born on November 26, 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 viewed all women as "whores".<ref name=agibarsi />

József was born on November 26, 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 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>

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>

[[File:Barsi Couple.jpg|thumb|right|József with his second wife, Maria.]]

After the family moved to New York in 1964, József 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 />

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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 the age of five, Judith was discovered at a skating rink.<ref name=latimes /> She went on to appear in more than 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>

As Judith's career success increased, József became increasingly abusive, jealous, and paranoid, and would routinely threaten to kill himself, his wife, and daughter.<ref name=NE>Girl who appeared on 'Growing Pains' told show's star: My dad says he's going to kill me! ''The National Enquirer'', (September 9, 1988)</ref> His alcoholism worsened, and resulted in him getting arrested three times for drunk driving.<ref name=latimes /> In December 1986, Maria reported his 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.<ref name=latimes />

As Judith's career success increased, József became increasingly abusive, jealous, and paranoid, and would routinely threaten to kill himself, his wife, and daughter.<ref name=NE>Girl who appeared on 'Growing Pains' told show's star: My dad says he's going to kill me! ''The National Enquirer'', (September 9, 1988)</ref> His alcoholism worsened and resulted in him getting arrested three times for drunk driving.<ref name=latimes /> In December 1986, Maria reported his 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.<ref name=latimes />

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 that 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, in an attempt 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 /> Due to 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 />

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 that 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, in an attempt 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 /> Due to 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 />

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.<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/1988-09-07/local/me-1411_1_judith-barsi Inquiry in Barsi Case Dropped Too Soon, Panel Says], ''LA Times'' (September 7, 1988)</ref> 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.<ref name=latimes /> As József was obsessed with cleanliness, Maria stopped cleaning the family home in a bid to drive him out. Judith's half-sister Ági visited the house and later described it as a "living pigpen".<ref name = "Documentary"/> A week before the murder-suicide, Maria told a next-door neighbor that she intended to cash her daughter's $12,000 federal tax refund check before József could get it.<ref name = "fuentes"/>

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While Judith and Maria were buried together in an unmarked grave on August 9th, 1988, the location of József's grave is a mystery, and so is whether he was even buried or cremated, or simply decomposed on the ground.<ref name = "lundberg"/>

Jozsef's son from his first marriage, Barna, became a chronic alcoholic, and ~~comitted~~ suicide by throwing himself off a bridge in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1995. His first daughter, Ági, developed breast cancer in 1997, and became a radio talk show host and an author of self help books.<ref name=agibarsi /> She succumbed to her cancer in 2008.

Jozsef's son from his first marriage, Barna, became a chronic alcoholic and committed suicide by throwing himself off a bridge in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1995. His first daughter, Ági, developed breast cancer in 1997 and became a radio talk show host and an author of self-help books.<ref name=agibarsi /> She succumbed to her cancer in 2008.

==References==

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 ==Early life and marriages==
 [[File:Jozsef,_Klara,_Agi_&_Barna.png|thumb|József with his first wife, Klara, and their two children, Ági (left) and Barna (right).]]
-József was born on November 26, 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 viewed all women as "whores".<ref name=agibarsi />
+József was born on November 26, 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 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>
+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>
 [[File:Barsi Couple.jpg|thumb|right|József with his second wife, Maria.]]
 After the family moved to New York in 1964, József 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 />
@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 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 the age of five, Judith was discovered at a skating rink.<ref name=latimes /> She went on to appear in more than 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>
-As Judith's career success increased, József became increasingly abusive, jealous, and paranoid, and would routinely threaten to kill himself, his wife, and daughter.<ref name=NE>Girl who appeared on 'Growing Pains' told show's star: My dad says he's going to kill me! ''The National Enquirer'', (September 9, 1988)</ref> His alcoholism worsened, and resulted in him getting arrested three times for drunk driving.<ref name=latimes /> In December 1986, Maria reported his 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.<ref name=latimes />
+As Judith's career success increased, József became increasingly abusive, jealous, and paranoid, and would routinely threaten to kill himself, his wife, and daughter.<ref name=NE>Girl who appeared on 'Growing Pains' told show's star: My dad says he's going to kill me! ''The National Enquirer'', (September 9, 1988)</ref> His alcoholism worsened and resulted in him getting arrested three times for drunk driving.<ref name=latimes /> In December 1986, Maria reported his 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.<ref name=latimes />
-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 that 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, in an attempt 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 /> Due to 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 />
+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 that 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, in an attempt 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 /> Due to 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 />
 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.<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/1988-09-07/local/me-1411_1_judith-barsi Inquiry in Barsi Case Dropped Too Soon, Panel Says], ''LA Times'' (September 7, 1988)</ref> 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.<ref name=latimes /> As József was obsessed with cleanliness, Maria stopped cleaning the family home in a bid to drive him out. Judith's half-sister Ági visited the house and later described it as a "living pigpen".<ref name = "Documentary"/> A week before the murder-suicide, Maria told a next-door neighbor that she intended to cash her daughter's $12,000 federal tax refund check before József could get it.<ref name = "fuentes"/>
@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 While Judith and Maria were buried together in an unmarked grave on August 9th, 1988, the location of József's grave is a mystery, and so is whether he was even buried or cremated, or simply decomposed on the ground.<ref name = "lundberg"/>
-Jozsef's son from his first marriage, Barna, became a chronic alcoholic, and comitted suicide by throwing himself off a bridge in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1995. His first daughter, Ági, developed breast cancer in 1997, and became a radio talk show host and an author of self help books.<ref name=agibarsi /> She succumbed to her cancer in 2008.
+Jozsef's son from his first marriage, Barna, became a chronic alcoholic and committed suicide by throwing himself off a bridge in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1995. His first daughter, Ági, developed breast cancer in 1997 and became a radio talk show host and an author of self-help books.<ref name=agibarsi /> She succumbed to her cancer in 2008.
 ==References==