József Barsi: Difference between revisions

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[[File:Jozsef Istvan Barsi.png|thumb|300px|right|József Istvan Barsi]]

{{Quote|Judith's just a kid and she has more money in the bank than I'll ever see. It makes me sick. Some day I'd like to strangle the little brat.|<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 19, 1988)</ref>}}

'''József Istvan "Arizona Joe"~~<ref name=latimes /> Barsi~~''' (November 26, 1932-July 27, 1988) was a Hungarian-American plumbing contractor, best known as the father of child actress [[wikipedia:Judith Barsi|Judith Barsi]], and the husband of her mother, Maria Eva Barsi, both of whom were his victims.

'''József Istvan "Arizona Joe" Barsi''' (November 26, 1932-July 27, 1988) was a Hungarian-American plumbing contractor, best known as the father of child actress [[wikipedia:Judith Barsi|Judith Barsi]], and the husband of her mother, Maria Eva Barsi, both of whom were his victims.

==Early life and marriages==

{{Quote|... my father was an introvert with few close friends and never attempted to make new ones. He rarely had anything nice to say about anyone and thought everyone was out to cheat him. My father had absolutely no respect for women and as far as he was concerned all women were whores... School kids made fun of him for being fatherless and even some of his teachers treated him unfairly. At a very early age he had to defend himself against this discrimination. Unfortunately, the only way he knew how to deal with this was through violence. I believe he grew up feeling deep resentment for his mother, blaming her for his father's abandonment.|Ági Barsi<ref name=agibarsi/>}}

[[File:Jozsef, Klara, Agi & Barna.png|thumb|József during his first marriage.]]

Barsi had [[wikipedia:Hungarian diaspora|fled]] [[wikipedia:People's Republic of Hungary|Communist Hungary]] after the [[w:1956 Hungarian Revolution#Soviet intervention of 4 November|1956 Soviet occupation]] at age 19. 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 [[wikipedia: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> Ági, and other close contacts, later wrote that József suffered from low self-esteem, stemming from mockery over his Hungarian accent and the social rejection he suffered in Hungary, due to his [[w:Legitimacy (law)|illegitimate birth]].<ref name=latimes /><ref name=agibarsi /><ref name=Documentary/>

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 [[File:Jozsef Istvan Barsi.png|thumb|300px|right|József Istvan Barsi]]
-{{Quote|Judith's just a kid and she has more money in the bank than I'll ever see. It makes me sick. Some day I'd like to strangle the little brat.|<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 19, 1988)</ref>}}
-'''József Istvan "Arizona Joe"<ref name=latimes /> Barsi''' (November 26, 1932-July 27, 1988) was a Hungarian-American plumbing contractor, best known as the father of child actress [[wikipedia:Judith Barsi|Judith Barsi]], and the husband of her mother, Maria Eva Barsi, both of whom were his victims.
+'''József Istvan "Arizona Joe" Barsi''' (November 26, 1932-July 27, 1988) was a Hungarian-American plumbing contractor, best known as the father of child actress [[wikipedia:Judith Barsi|Judith Barsi]], and the husband of her mother, Maria Eva Barsi, both of whom were his victims.
 ==Early life and marriages==
-{{Quote|... my father was an introvert with few close friends and never attempted to make new ones. He rarely had anything nice to say about anyone and thought everyone was out to cheat him. My father had absolutely no respect for women and as far as he was concerned all women were whores... School kids made fun of him for being fatherless and even some of his teachers treated him unfairly. At a very early age he had to defend himself against this discrimination. Unfortunately, the only way he knew how to deal with this was through violence. I believe he grew up feeling deep resentment for his mother, blaming her for his father's abandonment.|Ági Barsi<ref name=agibarsi/>}}
 [[File:Jozsef, Klara, Agi & Barna.png|thumb|József during his first marriage.]]
 Barsi had [[wikipedia:Hungarian diaspora|fled]] [[wikipedia:People's Republic of Hungary|Communist Hungary]] after the [[w:1956 Hungarian Revolution#Soviet intervention of 4 November|1956 Soviet occupation]] at age 19. 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 [[wikipedia: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> Ági, and other close contacts, later wrote that József suffered from low self-esteem, stemming from mockery over his Hungarian accent and the social rejection he suffered in Hungary, due to his [[w:Legitimacy (law)|illegitimate birth]].<ref name=latimes /><ref name=agibarsi /><ref name=Documentary/>