October 7, 2024 • 36 mins
What if the bright lights of Hollywood couldn't mask the darkest shadows of a child's life? This episode takes you on an emotional journey through the brief, yet impactful life of Judith Barsi, whose voice as Ducky in The Land Before Time and Anne-Marie in All Dogs Go to Heaven still resonates with audiences today. In this special bonus episode, Ashley and Remi highlight Judith’s quick rise to fame, the murder-suicide orchestrated by her father in July 1988, and the lasting impact her death had on everyone who knew her. Grab your tissues because this one is guaranteed to be a tearjerker.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ducky (00:11):
Hello, hello, you should come out, you should.
You are late.
Yes, you are.
(00:31):
Yep, yep, yep.
Remi (00:35):
Welcome to Criminal Adaptations, the show where we
usually take a look at some ofyour favorite films and the true
crime stories that inspiredthem.
But this week we are going tobe taking a break from our usual
format for this very specialbonus episode about the life and
death of child star JudithBarsi.
Ashley (00:57):
Before we get started, we want to warn our listeners
that we will be delving intosome pretty sensitive content
during this episode, includingdomestic abuse and familicide
involving a small child, solistener discretion is advised.
Remi (01:11):
Judith Barsi was a child actress primarily known for her
voice work as little orphanAnne-Marie in All Dogs Go to
Heaven and the lovable big mouthdinosaur Ducky in the original
A Land Before Time, which youall just heard a little clip of
during the beginning of thisepisode.
Sadly, Judith Barsi's life wascut short at just 10 years old
(01:36):
when she was tragically murderedby her own father before either
film was even released.
Ashley (01:43):
This is a story we were both semi-aware of before
deciding to do this, but afterdiscovering some additional
background information on aparticular scene in All Dogs Go
to Heaven that neither of ushave been able to watch since
without breaking down into tears, we wanted to know more about
her life and share what welearned with all of you.
We will be going into detailabout the specific tearjerker
(02:05):
scene closer to the end of thisepisode, but before that, let's
start at the very beginning.
Remi (02:10):
Judith Barsi's parents, Joseph Barsi and Maria Virovic,
were Hungarian immigrants whoseparately fled to America after
the 1956 Hungarian Revolution,an ultimately unsuccessful
nationwide uprising against theSoviet-backed government and its
imposed policies.
Maria was from a rural southernuniversity town and Joseph was
(02:34):
raised in a much rougherindustrial area.
Little else is known abouttheir life prior to their
marriage, but Joseph likely hada traumatic upbringing, as he
rarely spoke about his childhoodand often told his friends he
didn't have parents.
He also claimed to have lostvision in his eye from a bar
fight in New York in which hekilled someone and served time.
(02:58):
However, there is no record ofthis.
It appears as though he wasarrested three times, all of
which were for drunk driving.
The couple met at a popularHungarian restaurant in
California where Maria worked asa waitress.
Joseph spent his days drinkingalone at the bar, which should
have been a red flag, but Mariawas nevertheless intrigued by
(03:21):
the fact that he never paid histab with anything less than a
$100 bill.
Once married, Joseph continuedworking as a contract plumber, a
profession he kept even afterJudith's acting career started
taking off.
Ashley (03:36):
Judith, the couple's first and only child, was born
in Los Angeles on June 6, 1978.
Maria started preparing Judithfor a career in Hollywood when
her daughter was just five yearsold, teaching her lessons in
poise, posture and voice,although the odds were against
her daughter ever making it as amovie star.
It only took six months forJudith to be discovered by a
(03:59):
director who just so happened tonotice her at a San Fernando
Valley skating rink in 1983.
As luck would have it, judithand her mother were there on the
very same day.
A commercial was being filmedand the crew mistook Judith for
a three-year-old.
She was hired on the spot andmade her commercial debut in an
(04:19):
advertisement for Donald Duckorange juice not long after.
Judith Barsi (04:24):
Ever since mom and dad found out that Donald Duck
is 100% pure orange juice,they've been acting kind of
funny.
I mean, I know it tastes good,but really, oh, and a giant
green gorilla drank it all up.
Oh, please, we don't know whatto do with them anymore.
Oh well, maybe it's just aphase.
Remi (04:50):
And she is just the cutest little girl in the world in
these commercials she isincredibly precious and this is
a sentiment we're going to beechoing throughout this entire
episode.
Ashley (05:04):
We have watched a YouTube video that had all of
her commercials and in everysingle one we were just smiling
from ear to ear at about howadorable she is, and there's
also something really justheartwarming about a child
saying lines that are typicallyonly said by adults, like in
this one, when she's like I knowit's good, but come on, or
(05:28):
whatever it is.
It's just she's so cute.
And I had never heard of DonaldDuck orange juice, have you?
Remi (05:34):
Yeah, I used to have Donald Duck orange juice way
back in the day.
I don't think it's made anymore, but I definitely remember
having Donald Duck orange juicewhen I was a little kid.
Ashley (05:44):
I feel, robbed.
Remi (05:45):
It didn't take long for Judith's commercial career to
take off, and she would laterappear in 72 commercials, often
in a main role, for hugecorporations like McDonald's,
jif, peanut Butter, barbie,mattel, kfc and even Lay's
Potato Chips.
Judith Barsi (06:02):
Classic pickles sure taste good.
Huh, mm-hmm, you gonna eatyours.
Dad (06:07):
Uh, yeah sure.
Judith Barsi (06:08):
I really like classic pickles, Dad Mm, I like
them too.
Uh, Katie, do you want mypickle?
No, not if you're gonna eat it.
Dad (06:17):
Not if uh okay.
Judith Barsi (06:19):
Dad, when are you gonna eat that pickle?
Ashley (06:23):
We just had to include that because it's Remy's
favorite of all of hercommercials.
Remi (06:28):
I love that commercial so much and her line delivery of
dad when are you gonna eat thatpickle?
Is just amazing.
It is so cute.
Judith made her televisiondebut in Fatal Vision.
Judith made her televisiondebut in Fatal Vision, a 1984
true crime drama miniseriesbased on a novel by the same
name.
(06:49):
Hauntingly given what happenedjust four years later.
The story involves a retireewho spends nine years
relentlessly seeking to provehis son-in-law.
A former Green Beret Armydoctor murdered his pregnant
wife and two daughters, one ofwhom was played by Judith.
Ashley (07:06):
Judith began making appearances on several other
popular television shows of thetime, such as Growing Pains,
cheers, the Fall Guy, remingtonSteel and the Twilight Zone.
In 1986, judith landed herfirst feature film role in Eye
of the Tiger, starring GaryBusey, who is depicted holding
(07:27):
Judith on the poster art for thefilm.
Despite her growing success,her family was still on welfare
because Joseph outright refusedto let Maria get a job.
Unsurprisingly, judith'sattendance in school was
negatively affected by herever-growing work schedule.
Yet her agent, ruth Hansen,always described her as a bubbly
, happy little girl whenever sheworked on set.
(07:49):
Though Maria was heavilyinvolved in Judith's career, she
still did her best to give herdaughter a normal and happy
childhood and often preparedmany of Judith's favorite
Hungarian meals for her to eaton set and at school.
Remi (08:02):
Meanwhile, as Judith's star continued to rise, her
father, joseph, had fallendeeper into the throes of
alcohol addiction, leading toanger and repeated threats to
kill himself and his entirefamily.
Joseph's behavior becameincreasingly hostile whenever he
drank, which became more andmore frequent over the past
(08:24):
several months.
Having always been insecureabout his Hungarian accent,
joseph's growing paranoia causedhim to lash out at people he
thought were making fun of him.
In one such incident, he eventhreatened a man with a
two-by-four who he believed wassnickering at him behind his
back.
This physical violencecontinued as Judith confided to
(08:45):
a friend that her father threwpots and pans at her, which
resulted in a nosebleed.
With the trauma of Joseph'songoing abuse, judith gained
weight and began demonstratingincreasingly compulsive
behaviors such as biting herfingernails and pulling out her
own eyelashes.
Ashley (09:04):
We also read that she was pulling out her cat's
whiskers, not because she wastrying to harm the cat, but my
theory is that these compulsivebehaviors were a way for her to
express her anxiety because,even though she is this great
actor and can read lines, she'sstill so young and doesn't have
the capacity yet to reallyillustrate her pain verbally to
(09:28):
the adults in her life.
In December 1986, mariareported Joseph to the police
for repeatedly threatening tomurder her over the past five
years, choking her and beatingher in the face.
After the police found no signsof physical abuse, maria
declined to press any charges.
Thankfully now a lot of stateshave policies where if the
(09:49):
police do respond to a domesticdisturbance complaint, then
someone has to be arrested, ifat the very minimum to at least
separate them to allow forfurther investigation.
Following this event, josephreportedly quit drinking but
continued to verbally terrorizehis family.
He reportedly made threats toslit his family's throat and
(10:10):
burn down the house witheveryone still inside.
Joseph also became bitter thathis own daughter was now earning
more money than he ever had andeven destroyed a kite Judith
was given as a gift from hermother right in front of her,
while calling Judith a spoiledbrat who didn't deserve new toys
.
Contrary to his actions, josephstill claimed to highly value
(10:31):
his family and even told hisbrother-in-law that if his
family life was gone, then lifejust wouldn't be worth living.
He also reportedly even hid atelegram to his wife regarding a
relative of hers back inHungary who died, in order to
prevent Maria and Judith fromhaving any reason to leave the
United States without him.
Additionally, joseph now held adeep-seated resentment towards
(10:54):
Maria after her refusal toforgive him for his years of
drunken abuse.
After being sober for nearlytwo years and of course she
wasn't forgiving him he wasstill terrorizing this family
every day.
Remi (11:07):
In all of the research I did, joseph has literally zero
redeeming qualities in myopinion.
Literally zero redeemingqualities in my opinion.
This guy is a complete piece ofshit who should never have had
a family to begin with.
Ashley (11:25):
When you first said that , I thought, well, at least he
was working as a plumber.
But the fact that the familystill had to go on welfare while
he was doing this suggests thathe wasn't working that often.
Because trades like that, theyusually make a lot of money and
do have like a constant streamof work coming in.
Like if your toilet showeranything like that breaks down,
most people can't fix it.
(11:45):
Those things are constantlyhappening and need a plumber.
Remi (11:49):
But he was a contract plumber, meaning he was not
working every day.
He was being hired on wheneverthey needed somebody, so he was
not employed on a daily basis.
He was working whenever hecould, basically.
Ashley (12:04):
Well, and as a contractor he would have to
accept the job.
So that's kind of what I meant,the fact that they were still
on welfare, even though heshould have been theoretically
had a lot of job opportunities.
I suspect that his drinking waskind of getting in the way of
more than just his relationshipswith his family and also his
legal history.
Remi (12:25):
Judith's next big break came in 1987 when she was cast
in the Michael Caine classicJaws the Revenge.
But according to a familymember, just before Judith left
LA to begin filming in theBahamas, joseph pulled a knife
on her, threatening that if shedidn't return he would slit her
throat.
Although he was upset about hisfamily's departure, he still
(12:48):
refused a free airline ticket tovisit Judith and Maria during
the two-month shoot.
Lance Guest, the actor whoplayed Judith's father, later
described Maria as nervous butJudith as adorable and lovely to
work with.
After filming wrapped, judithand her mother briefly stayed
with some friends in New Yorkuntil Judith received a phone
(13:11):
call from Joseph reminding herof his previous threat.
A phone call from Josephreminding her of his previous
threat causing her to retreat toher room and cry.
Ashley (13:19):
Not long after Maria and Judith returned to their home
in the San Fernando Valley, butthe family reunion was far from
a happy one.
Joseph had started drinkingagain and began tightening his
control on Judith, while beingperpetually angry at his wife,
alternating between threats ofkilling her or himself and their
child, while leaving Mariaalive to suffer alone.
(13:40):
Judith was well aware of herchaotic and increasingly unsafe
home life.
One night, while she was at afriend's house, she said she was
afraid to go home because quoteDaddy is miserable, drunk every
day and I know he wants to killmy mother.
Remi (13:54):
By the time, Judith was nine years old and had started
the fourth grade.
She was earning an estimated$100,000 a year, which is the
equivalent to just over $266,000today when adjusted for
inflation.
This additional income allowedfor the family to buy a
three-bedroom house in the WestHills of LA.
(14:16):
At just 3'8", Judith wasnoticeably smaller for her age,
so she was mainly cast in rolesplaying children several years
younger than she actually was.
At one point, Judith was evengetting hormone injections from
UCLA in an attempt to helpstimulate her growth.
Ashley (14:43):
By May 1988, judith's manager, ruth, began to realize
just how bad things had gottenat home when, during an audition
for an animated feature, judithstarted crying so hard she
could barely speak.
At Ruth's insistence, judith wastaken to a psychologist who
called Child Protective Servicesafter their first session to
file a report about the physicaland emotional abuse Judith had
sustained.
Cps did contact Maria, but sheinsisted she was planning on
(15:05):
starting divorce proceedings andalready rented an apartment in
Panorama City which she plannedon using as a daytime safe haven
away from Joseph.
As a result, the CPS case wasclosed without any further
investigation.
Maria and Judith would spendtheir days staying at this
apartment, but then they wouldreturn to their other house in
(15:25):
the West Hills to spend eveningswith Joseph.
To not arouse any suspicion,maria was still hesitant to
fully leave, as she was worriedabout losing her house and all
of her and her daughter'sbelongings in the process.
She was also understandablyscared about how her husband
would take the news.
Finally, after muchencouragement from her friends
(15:46):
and family, maria said she wouldmove out of the neighborhood
sometime after Judith's upcomingbirthday.
Remi (15:52):
Judith was last seen riding her bike on the morning
of July 25th 1988, two monthsafter she had turned 10 years
old.
She would later miss anappointment that day at
Hanna-Barbera Productions, theproduction company responsible
for such iconic cartoons asScooby-Doo, the Jetsons and the
Flintstones.
(16:12):
When Judith's agent Ruth calledJoseph inquiring about his
daughter's absence, he claimed abig car came by and took her
and her mother to San Diego.
During a subsequent callbetween the two the following
day, joseph said he would bemoving out of the house but
(16:32):
wanted to wait for Judith to gethome from her trip first so
that he could say goodbye.
At around 8.30 am on Wednesday,july 28, 1988, a neighbor
called the police reporting thesound of a gunshot originating
from the Barsi home.
By the time the police arrived,the Barsi house was on fire
(16:53):
with three bodies still inside.
These were later identified as10-year-old Judith, 48-year-old
Maria and 55-year-old Joseph.
Judith's body was discoveredlying in bed next to a pink TV
Joseph bought for her as anapology gift for pulling her
hair.
It was determined that Josephshot his wife and daughter first
(17:16):
, later setting the house onfire using gasoline, before
proceeding to shoot himself inthe garage.
Although this is unconfirmed,it is theorized that Joseph
murdered his family afterlearning of Maria's plan to move
out and divorce him.
Judith's Jaws Revenge co-star,lance Guest, served as one of
(17:37):
Judith's pallbearers during herfuneral, and Judith's best
friend continued to feed hercats for several months until
they were finally rehomed.
Any of her toys that survivedthe fire were donated to a local
goodwill.
Ashley (17:52):
As we mentioned in the intro, judith is most known for
her work in the belovedchildren's films the Land Before
Time and All Dogs Go to Heaven,both of which were released
after her death.
During the production of AnAmerican Tale, director Don
Bluth, who is also responsiblefor the Secret Life of Nim,
began talking to StevenSpielberg about making a movie
(18:12):
similar to Bambi, but withdinosaurs.
Being the dino fan we all knowhim to be, spielberg obviously
loved the idea and called uplongtime friend George Lucas,
who agreed to join him as anexecutive producer on the film.
Bluth, spielberg and Lucasoriginally wanted the film to
have no dialogue, but the ideawas scrapped in favor of using
(18:36):
primarily child actors to voicethe main characters, so the film
would be more appealing to kids.
Judith provided the voice forthe lovable green serilophus
Ducky.
The Land Before Time went on tobecome the highest-grossing
animated film of all time untilthe Little Mermaid was released
the following year.
Judith Barsi (18:59):
Hello.
I said hello.
What is your name?
Maybe you cannot talk yet.
Huh Huh?
Littlefoot (19:19):
Don't you know anything?
Long necks don't talk to,whatever you are.
Ducky (19:27):
Me, I'm a long neck too, see, and I have a long tail like
you.
All right, I'm not a long neck,I'm a big mouth, but I am all
alone, I am.
Ashley (19:49):
Remy, what was your relationship with Land Before
Time growing up as a kid?
Remi (19:53):
I love this movie.
This movie had a huge impact onme and I had all of the Pizza
Hut figures.
I was such a fan of this.
I didn't see any of the sequelsbecause I didn't really want to
, but the original film stillholds up and it's really good.
We watched it the other nightand it is dark for a children's
(20:17):
film, but it's amazing.
It is a really, reallyemotional, well-told children's
tale.
In my opinion.
Ashley (20:25):
Same.
I remember watching the firstone and I think I did see the
second one when I was a kid andI didn't remember much going in
to the rewatch, but I still knewexactly what was going to
happen, like I knew how theywere all going to meet, that
they got separated from theirparents.
I knew Littlefoot's mom diesand it is just the saddest scene
.
We both got teary eyed duringit.
(20:47):
It is so intense.
Remi (20:49):
Yeah, we almost cried during the mother scene in the
film.
It is incredibly powerful andvery, very raw and real, in my
opinion, for a movie withchildren dinosaurs.
Ashley (21:04):
Well, and something else we noticed was how much Lion
King stole from this.
Like throughout the whole movie, littlefoot is being guided to
the Great Valley by his mom andeven talks to her in the clouds,
and it's just like Mufasa andSimba.
It's the exact same.
Remi (21:22):
I do think that other films have taken a little bit
from this.
I know it is based on Bambi,but in my opinion I think this
film is more powerful than Bambiever was.
Bambi had one scene.
I think this whole movie isincredibly emotional and still
holds up today.
(21:43):
If you have children, it isdark, but I do think it is an
incredibly well-made, brilliantchildren's film.
Don Bluth started writing hisnext picture, All Dogs Go to
Heaven, immediately after A Land, Before Time was completed.
He had adored working withJudith so much that he based the
character of Anne-Marie in AllDogs Go to Heaven off of her,
(22:07):
including the character's designand mannerisms.
Anne-marie was also the firsthuman character to ever make an
appearance in a Don Bluth film,and the song Love Survives,
which plays during the film'sclosing credits, is dedicated to
Judith's memory.
Scene from All Dogs Go t (22:29):
Beyond our lives.
I feel those times Growingstronger.
Love survives.
The tears may cry.
Yes, love survives it all.
Remi (22:54):
Ashley, we watched All Dogs Go to Heaven just the other
night in preparation for thispodcast.
What are your thoughts on themore recent rewatch?
Ashley (23:04):
So All Dogs Go to Heaven is not my favorite Don Bluth
film.
I much prefer A Land BeforeTime and American Tail.
I love American Tail and wealso randomly watched A Secret
Life of Nim, I think last yearor so, because I had never seen
it, and it's also dark andamazing.
I also love Thumbelina, whichyou haven't seen, but I'm going
(23:27):
to make you watch it.
Remi (23:28):
You're probably not going to like it as much of the others
, but we are watching a lot ofDon Bluth movies in preparation
for this podcast.
Ashley (23:36):
But I do, like All Dogs, go to Heaven.
It has so many wild adultthemes.
They just don't make childmovies like this anymore.
There is gambling and drinkingand hell and manipulation and
unlawful behavior left and right.
There is murder.
Remi (23:56):
Gambling Mobsters.
It is not a children's filmthat you would ever see today,
really dealing with some veryheavy themes of death and
mortality, and it has somesimilarities to.
It's a Wonderful Life where aperson is forced to look back on
their ways, and I do agree thatA Land Before Time is a much
(24:20):
more emotional, better film thanthis one.
But I always loved this moviewhen I was younger.
It is a very dark film watchingas an adult, but I still think
it is very good.
The alligator part is still odd, that that comes out of nowhere
.
But overall I think again, donBluth captures a lot of dark
(24:42):
themes and really emotionalelements in his extremely short
films.
Both of these films were lessthan an hour and a half.
Ashley (24:51):
Well, and I will say, knowing what we now know about
the end scene, the very finalscene of All Dogs Go to Heaven,
that, Remy, you're going to talkabout here in a minute, I look
at this film differently.
Remi (25:05):
The ending scene is just phenomenal and heartbreaking and
moving and it really elevatesthis movie heartbreaking and
moving and it really elevatesthis movie, and we will be
discussing that scene in moredetail later, but it basically
is the scene that inspired thisentire bonus episode During
filming of All Dogs Go to Heaven, actor Burt Reynolds, who
(25:25):
provided the voice of the film'smain mutt, Charlie B Barkin.
Ashley (25:30):
Which is the best name for a dog in any movie that has
ever existed.
Remi (25:35):
Totally agree.
Yes, I love the name.
Well, he insisted on recordingmany of his scenes live in the
studio with the other actors inorder for their characters'
dialogue to sound much morenatural.
Though not unheard of at thetime, most animated films record
the voice actors' linesseparately, alone in a recording
(25:57):
booth, to minimize anypotential sound issues or
distractions, but many actorsbelieve that performing a scene
collaboratively can greatlyimprove the quality of their
work.
As a result, barsi and Reynoldsbecame extremely close as they
recorded many of their linestogether.
Anne-marie does have onemusical number in the film, in a
(26:19):
song called Soon You'll ComeHome, which is about the
characters longing for a happyand loving family.
Now we are going to play youall two clips from the film, and
you may notice thatAnne-Marie's singing voice
sounds quite a bit differentthan her speaking voice.
Anne- Marie (26:48):
This is the most beautiful house I've ever seen.
Wallet Family (26:51):
Well, thank you, anne-marie.
Where do you live?
Anne- Marie (26:55):
I live with Charlie .
He's my dog.
Wallet Family (26:59):
Oh, but what about your parents?
Anne- Marie (27:01):
I don't have any parents.
Wallet Family (27:03):
Then where do you stay?
Anne- Marie (27:05):
With With
Wallet Family (27:07):
Oh my
Lana Beeson (27:19):
Let's pretend that you're far away.
Let's say you write to me andyou promise in your letter that
you'll come home.
Come home to my heart
Ashley (27:38):
These differences are because a different actress
named Lana Beeson was brought into sing the songs as Judith
broke down crying about her homelife whenever she tried to sing
it and the filmmakers wiselydecided not to push her.
She tried to sing it and thefilmmakers wisely decided not to
push her.
Although all the dialogue wasfinished by the time Judith was
murdered, Burt Reynolds asked tore-record his dialogue of their
(28:00):
final scene together.
This recording session tookplace in a completely closed
studio, meaning it was just himand the audio engineer, with
Reynolds delivering his lineswhile staring at a photograph of
Judith, using his performanceas a chance to say a final
goodbye to his young friendwhose life had barely just begun
.
Anne- Marie (28:25):
Oh, charlie.
Charlie (28:29):
Yeah, it's me how you feeling kid,
Anne- Marie (28:31):
okay, how are you
Charlie (28:36):
Well, I, come to say goodbye.
Anne- Marie (28:40):
Where are you going ?
Charlie (28:42):
Ah, it's not a little trip.
Listen, squeaker, I want you todo something for me, all right?
Anne- Marie (28:47):
Uh-huh,
Charlie (28:49):
I want you to take care of Itchy, you know, just while
I'm gone.
You got a home now and hedoesn't have anybody.
Anne- Marie (28:56):
Don't worry, charlie, I will.
Charlie (28:59):
great.
Well, goodbye, little buddy.
Anne- Marie (29:05):
Oh, charlie, I'll miss you.
Charlie (29:10):
Yeah, I'll miss you too , squeaker.
Now you go to sleep.
Anne- Marie (29:18):
Charlie.
Will I ever see you again?
Charlie (29:21):
Sure, sure, you will kid you know, goodbyes aren't
forever.
Anne- Marie (29:27):
Then.
Goodbye, charlie, I love you.
Charlie (29:34):
Yeah, I love you too.
Remi (29:43):
This is the clip that inspired this entire episode,
and we just rewatched it now.
It's my fourth time seeing it,I think in the past month, and
it still brought a tear to myeye.
Knowing the backstory, it is sofucking sad.
Ashley (30:04):
We literally watched this movie yesterday and I cried
during it.
Then I cried when you firstshowed me or first told me about
this story and we watched theclip without having really much
memory about the whole movie,just knowing how he was filming
this just in the studio, withjust him and one other person
looking at a photo of her andreally using it as a chance to
(30:26):
say goodbye.
It's just so, so, so sad and Istill can't get through it
without crying.
It is just devastating.
Remi (30:37):
I was watching it the other day or we were watching it
the other day and again I knowit's coming.
I know all the lines and thedialogue and everything.
I saw this movie when I was alittle kid.
I've seen this movie a bunch oftimes, but knowing this
backstory to it just added somuch weight to this scene and
last night I was even staring atit as blankly as I could and
(31:01):
tears still began streaming downmy face.
Even watching the clip just now, I got chills and started
tearing up.
And this episode is, like I said, inspired by this scene.
And I had read online about thebackground story to this scene
a little while back and watchedit early morning and I had such
(31:23):
an emotional reaction that Ibrought it up to Ashley and said
this is a very moving, tragicstory that should be told.
Very moving, tragic story thatshould be told.
Although this has never beenconfirmed and is something that
Reynolds never publiclycommented on, it is said that it
took more than 60 takes forReynolds to get through the
(31:44):
entire scene without breakingdown, and who can honestly blame
him?
If you listen closely, you canactually hear his voice breaking
at least twice during the scene.
Ashley (31:57):
I think it's both times that Charlie like clears his
throat.
I think that's him like thefinal goodbye yeah.
Him trying to like get hiscomposure together, and you can
hear it he does audibly clearhis throat two times in this.
Remi (32:13):
And that's the part that always gets me choked up,
because you can feel the emotionin those few words that he says
.
Reynolds and Bluth wereheartbroken after Judith's death
and rarely spoke about it.
Bluth did describe Judith asbeing absolutely astonishing.
She understood verbal directioneven for the most sophisticated
(32:36):
situations.
He also remarked on thedifficulty of finding child
actors and how he had intendedto continue to feature her
extensively in future projects,the most noteworthy being
Rockadoodle, thumbelina andAnastasia being Rockadoodle
(32:57):
Thumbelina and Anastasia.
Ashley (32:57):
I guarantee you she would have been Thumbelina and
she would have been Anastasia,100%.
She would have been the perfectage.
Remi (33:02):
I think we would have heard this girl's voice and
possibly even seen her inseveral projects for years to
come, if the tragedy had notoccurred.
In various interviews, reynoldsemphasized the importance of
caring for young actors andlooking after their well-being
for the remainder of his career,but he avoided speaking about
(33:23):
Judith, with only one exceptionbeing the following quote Judith
was a shining star and it isheartbreaking to think of what
she could have achieved.
Ashley (33:36):
Less than two months after her death, the CPS
advisory board asked to reviewthe Barsi file.
Helen Kleinberg, a member ofthe board, was upset about how
Judith's case had been handled,believing that she was the
client and not her mother, Maria, meaning that the case should
never have been closed based onMaria's request to handle the
(33:57):
situation without theirinvolvement.
Additionally, Kleinbergspecifically highlighted how
there was less money set asidein the agency's budget to
monitor children who remained inthe home with a parent or
related guardian.
In response, severalinitiatives were launched to
provide support for child actorsand their families.
(34:17):
These have focused onincreasing awareness of domestic
violence issues, advocating formental health resources for
young performers and offeringsupport groups for families of
child actors.
Remi (34:29):
And in one final story of what could have been.
While Steven Spielberg wasplanning his own groundbreaking
dino film, jurassic Park in theearly 1990s, he had one actress
in mind for the role oftech-savvy teenager Lex, a young
actress named Judith Barsi,whom he had met while producing
(34:50):
A Land Before Time, had metwhile producing A Land Before
Time.
Unaware of Judith's tragicpassing, spielberg only found
out about her murder aftertrying to get in touch with
Judith to discuss the role.
Ashley (35:00):
Maria and Judith Barsi are buried in adjoining plots at
Forest Lawn Memorial Park inHollywood.
Judith's headstone reads OurConquering Angel, followed by
Ducky's famous line of yep, yep,yep.
Ducky (35:13):
Yep, yep, yep.
Remi (35:15):
Thank you for joining us for this week's special bonus
episode, and if you or someoneyou know is experiencing
domestic violence or child abuse, help is available.
Please call 1-800-799-SAFE or800-422-4453 or your local
(35:36):
authorities.
Links to various supportservices are also available in
the episode notes.
Hello, hello, you should come out, you should.
You are late.
Yes, you are.
(00:31):
Yep, yep, yep.
Remi (00:35):
Welcome to Criminal Adaptations, the show where we
usually take a look at some ofyour favorite films and the true
crime stories that inspiredthem.
But this week we are going tobe taking a break from our usual
format for this very specialbonus episode about the life and
death of child star JudithBarsi.
Ashley (00:57):
Before we get started, we want to warn our listeners
that we will be delving intosome pretty sensitive content
during this episode, includingdomestic abuse and familicide
involving a small child, solistener discretion is advised.
Remi (01:11):
Judith Barsi was a child actress primarily known for her
voice work as little orphanAnne-Marie in All Dogs Go to
Heaven and the lovable big mouthdinosaur Ducky in the original
A Land Before Time, which youall just heard a little clip of
during the beginning of thisepisode.
Sadly, Judith Barsi's life wascut short at just 10 years old
(01:36):
when she was tragically murderedby her own father before either
film was even released.
Ashley (01:43):
This is a story we were both semi-aware of before
deciding to do this, but afterdiscovering some additional
background information on aparticular scene in All Dogs Go
to Heaven that neither of ushave been able to watch since
without breaking down into tears, we wanted to know more about
her life and share what welearned with all of you.
We will be going into detailabout the specific tearjerker
(02:05):
scene closer to the end of thisepisode, but before that, let's
start at the very beginning.
Remi (02:10):
Judith Barsi's parents, Joseph Barsi and Maria Virovic,
were Hungarian immigrants whoseparately fled to America after
the 1956 Hungarian Revolution,an ultimately unsuccessful
nationwide uprising against theSoviet-backed government and its
imposed policies.
Maria was from a rural southernuniversity town and Joseph was
(02:34):
raised in a much rougherindustrial area.
Little else is known abouttheir life prior to their
marriage, but Joseph likely hada traumatic upbringing, as he
rarely spoke about his childhoodand often told his friends he
didn't have parents.
He also claimed to have lostvision in his eye from a bar
fight in New York in which hekilled someone and served time.
(02:58):
However, there is no record ofthis.
It appears as though he wasarrested three times, all of
which were for drunk driving.
The couple met at a popularHungarian restaurant in
California where Maria worked asa waitress.
Joseph spent his days drinkingalone at the bar, which should
have been a red flag, but Mariawas nevertheless intrigued by
(03:21):
the fact that he never paid histab with anything less than a
$100 bill.
Once married, Joseph continuedworking as a contract plumber, a
profession he kept even afterJudith's acting career started
taking off.
Ashley (03:36):
Judith, the couple's first and only child, was born
in Los Angeles on June 6, 1978.
Maria started preparing Judithfor a career in Hollywood when
her daughter was just five yearsold, teaching her lessons in
poise, posture and voice,although the odds were against
her daughter ever making it as amovie star.
It only took six months forJudith to be discovered by a
(03:59):
director who just so happened tonotice her at a San Fernando
Valley skating rink in 1983.
As luck would have it, judithand her mother were there on the
very same day.
A commercial was being filmedand the crew mistook Judith for
a three-year-old.
She was hired on the spot andmade her commercial debut in an
(04:19):
advertisement for Donald Duckorange juice not long after.
Judith Barsi (04:24):
Ever since mom and dad found out that Donald Duck
is 100% pure orange juice,they've been acting kind of
funny.
I mean, I know it tastes good,but really, oh, and a giant
green gorilla drank it all up.
Oh, please, we don't know whatto do with them anymore.
Oh well, maybe it's just aphase.
Remi (04:50):
And she is just the cutest little girl in the world in
these commercials she isincredibly precious and this is
a sentiment we're going to beechoing throughout this entire
episode.
Ashley (05:04):
We have watched a YouTube video that had all of
her commercials and in everysingle one we were just smiling
from ear to ear at about howadorable she is, and there's
also something really justheartwarming about a child
saying lines that are typicallyonly said by adults, like in
this one, when she's like I knowit's good, but come on, or
(05:28):
whatever it is.
It's just she's so cute.
And I had never heard of DonaldDuck orange juice, have you?
Remi (05:34):
Yeah, I used to have Donald Duck orange juice way
back in the day.
I don't think it's made anymore, but I definitely remember
having Donald Duck orange juicewhen I was a little kid.
Ashley (05:44):
I feel, robbed.
Remi (05:45):
It didn't take long for Judith's commercial career to
take off, and she would laterappear in 72 commercials, often
in a main role, for hugecorporations like McDonald's,
jif, peanut Butter, barbie,mattel, kfc and even Lay's
Potato Chips.
Judith Barsi (06:02):
Classic pickles sure taste good.
Huh, mm-hmm, you gonna eatyours.
Dad (06:07):
Uh, yeah sure.
Judith Barsi (06:08):
I really like classic pickles, Dad Mm, I like
them too.
Uh, Katie, do you want mypickle?
No, not if you're gonna eat it.
Dad (06:17):
Not if uh okay.
Judith Barsi (06:19):
Dad, when are you gonna eat that pickle?
Ashley (06:23):
We just had to include that because it's Remy's
favorite of all of hercommercials.
Remi (06:28):
I love that commercial so much and her line delivery of
dad when are you gonna eat thatpickle?
Is just amazing.
It is so cute.
Judith made her televisiondebut in Fatal Vision.
Judith made her televisiondebut in Fatal Vision, a 1984
true crime drama miniseriesbased on a novel by the same
name.
(06:49):
Hauntingly given what happenedjust four years later.
The story involves a retireewho spends nine years
relentlessly seeking to provehis son-in-law.
A former Green Beret Armydoctor murdered his pregnant
wife and two daughters, one ofwhom was played by Judith.
Ashley (07:06):
Judith began making appearances on several other
popular television shows of thetime, such as Growing Pains,
cheers, the Fall Guy, remingtonSteel and the Twilight Zone.
In 1986, judith landed herfirst feature film role in Eye
of the Tiger, starring GaryBusey, who is depicted holding
(07:27):
Judith on the poster art for thefilm.
Despite her growing success,her family was still on welfare
because Joseph outright refusedto let Maria get a job.
Unsurprisingly, judith'sattendance in school was
negatively affected by herever-growing work schedule.
Yet her agent, ruth Hansen,always described her as a bubbly
, happy little girl whenever sheworked on set.
(07:49):
Though Maria was heavilyinvolved in Judith's career, she
still did her best to give herdaughter a normal and happy
childhood and often preparedmany of Judith's favorite
Hungarian meals for her to eaton set and at school.
Remi (08:02):
Meanwhile, as Judith's star continued to rise, her
father, joseph, had fallendeeper into the throes of
alcohol addiction, leading toanger and repeated threats to
kill himself and his entirefamily.
Joseph's behavior becameincreasingly hostile whenever he
drank, which became more andmore frequent over the past
(08:24):
several months.
Having always been insecureabout his Hungarian accent,
joseph's growing paranoia causedhim to lash out at people he
thought were making fun of him.
In one such incident, he eventhreatened a man with a
two-by-four who he believed wassnickering at him behind his
back.
This physical violencecontinued as Judith confided to
(08:45):
a friend that her father threwpots and pans at her, which
resulted in a nosebleed.
With the trauma of Joseph'songoing abuse, judith gained
weight and began demonstratingincreasingly compulsive
behaviors such as biting herfingernails and pulling out her
own eyelashes.
Ashley (09:04):
We also read that she was pulling out her cat's
whiskers, not because she wastrying to harm the cat, but my
theory is that these compulsivebehaviors were a way for her to
express her anxiety because,even though she is this great
actor and can read lines, she'sstill so young and doesn't have
the capacity yet to reallyillustrate her pain verbally to
(09:28):
the adults in her life.
In December 1986, mariareported Joseph to the police
for repeatedly threatening tomurder her over the past five
years, choking her and beatingher in the face.
After the police found no signsof physical abuse, maria
declined to press any charges.
Thankfully now a lot of stateshave policies where if the
(09:49):
police do respond to a domesticdisturbance complaint, then
someone has to be arrested, ifat the very minimum to at least
separate them to allow forfurther investigation.
Following this event, josephreportedly quit drinking but
continued to verbally terrorizehis family.
He reportedly made threats toslit his family's throat and
(10:10):
burn down the house witheveryone still inside.
Joseph also became bitter thathis own daughter was now earning
more money than he ever had andeven destroyed a kite Judith
was given as a gift from hermother right in front of her,
while calling Judith a spoiledbrat who didn't deserve new toys
.
Contrary to his actions, josephstill claimed to highly value
(10:31):
his family and even told hisbrother-in-law that if his
family life was gone, then lifejust wouldn't be worth living.
He also reportedly even hid atelegram to his wife regarding a
relative of hers back inHungary who died, in order to
prevent Maria and Judith fromhaving any reason to leave the
United States without him.
Additionally, joseph now held adeep-seated resentment towards
(10:54):
Maria after her refusal toforgive him for his years of
drunken abuse.
After being sober for nearlytwo years and of course she
wasn't forgiving him he wasstill terrorizing this family
every day.
Remi (11:07):
In all of the research I did, joseph has literally zero
redeeming qualities in myopinion.
Literally zero redeemingqualities in my opinion.
This guy is a complete piece ofshit who should never have had
a family to begin with.
Ashley (11:25):
When you first said that , I thought, well, at least he
was working as a plumber.
But the fact that the familystill had to go on welfare while
he was doing this suggests thathe wasn't working that often.
Because trades like that, theyusually make a lot of money and
do have like a constant streamof work coming in.
Like if your toilet showeranything like that breaks down,
most people can't fix it.
(11:45):
Those things are constantlyhappening and need a plumber.
Remi (11:49):
But he was a contract plumber, meaning he was not
working every day.
He was being hired on wheneverthey needed somebody, so he was
not employed on a daily basis.
He was working whenever hecould, basically.
Ashley (12:04):
Well, and as a contractor he would have to
accept the job.
So that's kind of what I meant,the fact that they were still
on welfare, even though heshould have been theoretically
had a lot of job opportunities.
I suspect that his drinking waskind of getting in the way of
more than just his relationshipswith his family and also his
legal history.
Remi (12:25):
Judith's next big break came in 1987 when she was cast
in the Michael Caine classicJaws the Revenge.
But according to a familymember, just before Judith left
LA to begin filming in theBahamas, joseph pulled a knife
on her, threatening that if shedidn't return he would slit her
throat.
Although he was upset about hisfamily's departure, he still
(12:48):
refused a free airline ticket tovisit Judith and Maria during
the two-month shoot.
Lance Guest, the actor whoplayed Judith's father, later
described Maria as nervous butJudith as adorable and lovely to
work with.
After filming wrapped, judithand her mother briefly stayed
with some friends in New Yorkuntil Judith received a phone
(13:11):
call from Joseph reminding herof his previous threat.
A phone call from Josephreminding her of his previous
threat causing her to retreat toher room and cry.
Ashley (13:19):
Not long after Maria and Judith returned to their home
in the San Fernando Valley, butthe family reunion was far from
a happy one.
Joseph had started drinkingagain and began tightening his
control on Judith, while beingperpetually angry at his wife,
alternating between threats ofkilling her or himself and their
child, while leaving Mariaalive to suffer alone.
(13:40):
Judith was well aware of herchaotic and increasingly unsafe
home life.
One night, while she was at afriend's house, she said she was
afraid to go home because quoteDaddy is miserable, drunk every
day and I know he wants to killmy mother.
Remi (13:54):
By the time, Judith was nine years old and had started
the fourth grade.
She was earning an estimated$100,000 a year, which is the
equivalent to just over $266,000today when adjusted for
inflation.
This additional income allowedfor the family to buy a
three-bedroom house in the WestHills of LA.
(14:16):
At just 3'8", Judith wasnoticeably smaller for her age,
so she was mainly cast in rolesplaying children several years
younger than she actually was.
At one point, Judith was evengetting hormone injections from
UCLA in an attempt to helpstimulate her growth.
Ashley (14:43):
By May 1988, judith's manager, ruth, began to realize
just how bad things had gottenat home when, during an audition
for an animated feature, judithstarted crying so hard she
could barely speak.
At Ruth's insistence, judith wastaken to a psychologist who
called Child Protective Servicesafter their first session to
file a report about the physicaland emotional abuse Judith had
sustained.
Cps did contact Maria, but sheinsisted she was planning on
(15:05):
starting divorce proceedings andalready rented an apartment in
Panorama City which she plannedon using as a daytime safe haven
away from Joseph.
As a result, the CPS case wasclosed without any further
investigation.
Maria and Judith would spendtheir days staying at this
apartment, but then they wouldreturn to their other house in
(15:25):
the West Hills to spend eveningswith Joseph.
To not arouse any suspicion,maria was still hesitant to
fully leave, as she was worriedabout losing her house and all
of her and her daughter'sbelongings in the process.
She was also understandablyscared about how her husband
would take the news.
Finally, after muchencouragement from her friends
(15:46):
and family, maria said she wouldmove out of the neighborhood
sometime after Judith's upcomingbirthday.
Remi (15:52):
Judith was last seen riding her bike on the morning
of July 25th 1988, two monthsafter she had turned 10 years
old.
She would later miss anappointment that day at
Hanna-Barbera Productions, theproduction company responsible
for such iconic cartoons asScooby-Doo, the Jetsons and the
Flintstones.
(16:12):
When Judith's agent Ruth calledJoseph inquiring about his
daughter's absence, he claimed abig car came by and took her
and her mother to San Diego.
During a subsequent callbetween the two the following
day, joseph said he would bemoving out of the house but
(16:32):
wanted to wait for Judith to gethome from her trip first so
that he could say goodbye.
At around 8.30 am on Wednesday,july 28, 1988, a neighbor
called the police reporting thesound of a gunshot originating
from the Barsi home.
By the time the police arrived,the Barsi house was on fire
(16:53):
with three bodies still inside.
These were later identified as10-year-old Judith, 48-year-old
Maria and 55-year-old Joseph.
Judith's body was discoveredlying in bed next to a pink TV
Joseph bought for her as anapology gift for pulling her
hair.
It was determined that Josephshot his wife and daughter first
(17:16):
, later setting the house onfire using gasoline, before
proceeding to shoot himself inthe garage.
Although this is unconfirmed,it is theorized that Joseph
murdered his family afterlearning of Maria's plan to move
out and divorce him.
Judith's Jaws Revenge co-star,lance Guest, served as one of
(17:37):
Judith's pallbearers during herfuneral, and Judith's best
friend continued to feed hercats for several months until
they were finally rehomed.
Any of her toys that survivedthe fire were donated to a local
goodwill.
Ashley (17:52):
As we mentioned in the intro, judith is most known for
her work in the belovedchildren's films the Land Before
Time and All Dogs Go to Heaven,both of which were released
after her death.
During the production of AnAmerican Tale, director Don
Bluth, who is also responsiblefor the Secret Life of Nim,
began talking to StevenSpielberg about making a movie
(18:12):
similar to Bambi, but withdinosaurs.
Being the dino fan we all knowhim to be, spielberg obviously
loved the idea and called uplongtime friend George Lucas,
who agreed to join him as anexecutive producer on the film.
Bluth, spielberg and Lucasoriginally wanted the film to
have no dialogue, but the ideawas scrapped in favor of using
(18:36):
primarily child actors to voicethe main characters, so the film
would be more appealing to kids.
Judith provided the voice forthe lovable green serilophus
Ducky.
The Land Before Time went on tobecome the highest-grossing
animated film of all time untilthe Little Mermaid was released
the following year.
Judith Barsi (18:59):
Hello.
I said hello.
What is your name?
Maybe you cannot talk yet.
Huh Huh?
Littlefoot (19:19):
Don't you know anything?
Long necks don't talk to,whatever you are.
Ducky (19:27):
Me, I'm a long neck too, see, and I have a long tail like
you.
All right, I'm not a long neck,I'm a big mouth, but I am all
alone, I am.
Ashley (19:49):
Remy, what was your relationship with Land Before
Time growing up as a kid?
Remi (19:53):
I love this movie.
This movie had a huge impact onme and I had all of the Pizza
Hut figures.
I was such a fan of this.
I didn't see any of the sequelsbecause I didn't really want to
, but the original film stillholds up and it's really good.
We watched it the other nightand it is dark for a children's
(20:17):
film, but it's amazing.
It is a really, reallyemotional, well-told children's
tale.
In my opinion.
Ashley (20:25):
Same.
I remember watching the firstone and I think I did see the
second one when I was a kid andI didn't remember much going in
to the rewatch, but I still knewexactly what was going to
happen, like I knew how theywere all going to meet, that
they got separated from theirparents.
I knew Littlefoot's mom diesand it is just the saddest scene
.
We both got teary eyed duringit.
(20:47):
It is so intense.
Remi (20:49):
Yeah, we almost cried during the mother scene in the
film.
It is incredibly powerful andvery, very raw and real, in my
opinion, for a movie withchildren dinosaurs.
Ashley (21:04):
Well, and something else we noticed was how much Lion
King stole from this.
Like throughout the whole movie, littlefoot is being guided to
the Great Valley by his mom andeven talks to her in the clouds,
and it's just like Mufasa andSimba.
It's the exact same.
Remi (21:22):
I do think that other films have taken a little bit
from this.
I know it is based on Bambi,but in my opinion I think this
film is more powerful than Bambiever was.
Bambi had one scene.
I think this whole movie isincredibly emotional and still
holds up today.
(21:43):
If you have children, it isdark, but I do think it is an
incredibly well-made, brilliantchildren's film.
Don Bluth started writing hisnext picture, All Dogs Go to
Heaven, immediately after A Land, Before Time was completed.
He had adored working withJudith so much that he based the
character of Anne-Marie in AllDogs Go to Heaven off of her,
(22:07):
including the character's designand mannerisms.
Anne-marie was also the firsthuman character to ever make an
appearance in a Don Bluth film,and the song Love Survives,
which plays during the film'sclosing credits, is dedicated to
Judith's memory.
Scene from All Dogs Go t (22:29):
Beyond our lives.
I feel those times Growingstronger.
Love survives.
The tears may cry.
Yes, love survives it all.
Remi (22:54):
Ashley, we watched All Dogs Go to Heaven just the other
night in preparation for thispodcast.
What are your thoughts on themore recent rewatch?
Ashley (23:04):
So All Dogs Go to Heaven is not my favorite Don Bluth
film.
I much prefer A Land BeforeTime and American Tail.
I love American Tail and wealso randomly watched A Secret
Life of Nim, I think last yearor so, because I had never seen
it, and it's also dark andamazing.
I also love Thumbelina, whichyou haven't seen, but I'm going
(23:27):
to make you watch it.
Remi (23:28):
You're probably not going to like it as much of the others
, but we are watching a lot ofDon Bluth movies in preparation
for this podcast.
Ashley (23:36):
But I do, like All Dogs, go to Heaven.
It has so many wild adultthemes.
They just don't make childmovies like this anymore.
There is gambling and drinkingand hell and manipulation and
unlawful behavior left and right.
There is murder.
Remi (23:56):
Gambling Mobsters.
It is not a children's filmthat you would ever see today,
really dealing with some veryheavy themes of death and
mortality, and it has somesimilarities to.
It's a Wonderful Life where aperson is forced to look back on
their ways, and I do agree thatA Land Before Time is a much
(24:20):
more emotional, better film thanthis one.
But I always loved this moviewhen I was younger.
It is a very dark film watchingas an adult, but I still think
it is very good.
The alligator part is still odd, that that comes out of nowhere
.
But overall I think again, donBluth captures a lot of dark
(24:42):
themes and really emotionalelements in his extremely short
films.
Both of these films were lessthan an hour and a half.
Ashley (24:51):
Well, and I will say, knowing what we now know about
the end scene, the very finalscene of All Dogs Go to Heaven,
that, Remy, you're going to talkabout here in a minute, I look
at this film differently.
Remi (25:05):
The ending scene is just phenomenal and heartbreaking and
moving and it really elevatesthis movie heartbreaking and
moving and it really elevatesthis movie, and we will be
discussing that scene in moredetail later, but it basically
is the scene that inspired thisentire bonus episode During
filming of All Dogs Go to Heaven, actor Burt Reynolds, who
(25:25):
provided the voice of the film'smain mutt, Charlie B Barkin.
Ashley (25:30):
Which is the best name for a dog in any movie that has
ever existed.
Remi (25:35):
Totally agree.
Yes, I love the name.
Well, he insisted on recordingmany of his scenes live in the
studio with the other actors inorder for their characters'
dialogue to sound much morenatural.
Though not unheard of at thetime, most animated films record
the voice actors' linesseparately, alone in a recording
(25:57):
booth, to minimize anypotential sound issues or
distractions, but many actorsbelieve that performing a scene
collaboratively can greatlyimprove the quality of their
work.
As a result, barsi and Reynoldsbecame extremely close as they
recorded many of their linestogether.
Anne-marie does have onemusical number in the film, in a
(26:19):
song called Soon You'll ComeHome, which is about the
characters longing for a happyand loving family.
Now we are going to play youall two clips from the film, and
you may notice thatAnne-Marie's singing voice
sounds quite a bit differentthan her speaking voice.
Anne- Marie (26:48):
This is the most beautiful house I've ever seen.
Wallet Family (26:51):
Well, thank you, anne-marie.
Where do you live?
Anne- Marie (26:55):
I live with Charlie .
He's my dog.
Wallet Family (26:59):
Oh, but what about your parents?
Anne- Marie (27:01):
I don't have any parents.
Wallet Family (27:03):
Then where do you stay?
Anne- Marie (27:05):
With With
Wallet Family (27:07):
Oh my
Lana Beeson (27:19):
Let's pretend that you're far away.
Let's say you write to me andyou promise in your letter that
you'll come home.
Come home to my heart
Ashley (27:38):
These differences are because a different actress
named Lana Beeson was brought into sing the songs as Judith
broke down crying about her homelife whenever she tried to sing
it and the filmmakers wiselydecided not to push her.
She tried to sing it and thefilmmakers wisely decided not to
push her.
Although all the dialogue wasfinished by the time Judith was
murdered, Burt Reynolds asked tore-record his dialogue of their
(28:00):
final scene together.
This recording session tookplace in a completely closed
studio, meaning it was just himand the audio engineer, with
Reynolds delivering his lineswhile staring at a photograph of
Judith, using his performanceas a chance to say a final
goodbye to his young friendwhose life had barely just begun
.
Anne- Marie (28:25):
Oh, charlie.
Charlie (28:29):
Yeah, it's me how you feeling kid,
Anne- Marie (28:31):
okay, how are you
Charlie (28:36):
Well, I, come to say goodbye.
Anne- Marie (28:40):
Where are you going ?
Charlie (28:42):
Ah, it's not a little trip.
Listen, squeaker, I want you todo something for me, all right?
Anne- Marie (28:47):
Uh-huh,
Charlie (28:49):
I want you to take care of Itchy, you know, just while
I'm gone.
You got a home now and hedoesn't have anybody.
Anne- Marie (28:56):
Don't worry, charlie, I will.
Charlie (28:59):
great.
Well, goodbye, little buddy.
Anne- Marie (29:05):
Oh, charlie, I'll miss you.
Charlie (29:10):
Yeah, I'll miss you too , squeaker.
Now you go to sleep.
Anne- Marie (29:18):
Charlie.
Will I ever see you again?
Charlie (29:21):
Sure, sure, you will kid you know, goodbyes aren't
forever.
Anne- Marie (29:27):
Then.
Goodbye, charlie, I love you.
Charlie (29:34):
Yeah, I love you too.
Remi (29:43):
This is the clip that inspired this entire episode,
and we just rewatched it now.
It's my fourth time seeing it,I think in the past month, and
it still brought a tear to myeye.
Knowing the backstory, it is sofucking sad.
Ashley (30:04):
We literally watched this movie yesterday and I cried
during it.
Then I cried when you firstshowed me or first told me about
this story and we watched theclip without having really much
memory about the whole movie,just knowing how he was filming
this just in the studio, withjust him and one other person
looking at a photo of her andreally using it as a chance to
(30:26):
say goodbye.
It's just so, so, so sad and Istill can't get through it
without crying.
It is just devastating.
Remi (30:37):
I was watching it the other day or we were watching it
the other day and again I knowit's coming.
I know all the lines and thedialogue and everything.
I saw this movie when I was alittle kid.
I've seen this movie a bunch oftimes, but knowing this
backstory to it just added somuch weight to this scene and
last night I was even staring atit as blankly as I could and
(31:01):
tears still began streaming downmy face.
Even watching the clip just now, I got chills and started
tearing up.
And this episode is, like I said, inspired by this scene.
And I had read online about thebackground story to this scene
a little while back and watchedit early morning and I had such
(31:23):
an emotional reaction that Ibrought it up to Ashley and said
this is a very moving, tragicstory that should be told.
Very moving, tragic story thatshould be told.
Although this has never beenconfirmed and is something that
Reynolds never publiclycommented on, it is said that it
took more than 60 takes forReynolds to get through the
(31:44):
entire scene without breakingdown, and who can honestly blame
him?
If you listen closely, you canactually hear his voice breaking
at least twice during the scene.
Ashley (31:57):
I think it's both times that Charlie like clears his
throat.
I think that's him like thefinal goodbye yeah.
Him trying to like get hiscomposure together, and you can
hear it he does audibly clearhis throat two times in this.
Remi (32:13):
And that's the part that always gets me choked up,
because you can feel the emotionin those few words that he says
.
Reynolds and Bluth wereheartbroken after Judith's death
and rarely spoke about it.
Bluth did describe Judith asbeing absolutely astonishing.
She understood verbal directioneven for the most sophisticated
(32:36):
situations.
He also remarked on thedifficulty of finding child
actors and how he had intendedto continue to feature her
extensively in future projects,the most noteworthy being
Rockadoodle, thumbelina andAnastasia being Rockadoodle
(32:57):
Thumbelina and Anastasia.
Ashley (32:57):
I guarantee you she would have been Thumbelina and
she would have been Anastasia,100%.
She would have been the perfectage.
Remi (33:02):
I think we would have heard this girl's voice and
possibly even seen her inseveral projects for years to
come, if the tragedy had notoccurred.
In various interviews, reynoldsemphasized the importance of
caring for young actors andlooking after their well-being
for the remainder of his career,but he avoided speaking about
(33:23):
Judith, with only one exceptionbeing the following quote Judith
was a shining star and it isheartbreaking to think of what
she could have achieved.
Ashley (33:36):
Less than two months after her death, the CPS
advisory board asked to reviewthe Barsi file.
Helen Kleinberg, a member ofthe board, was upset about how
Judith's case had been handled,believing that she was the
client and not her mother, Maria, meaning that the case should
never have been closed based onMaria's request to handle the
(33:57):
situation without theirinvolvement.
Additionally, Kleinbergspecifically highlighted how
there was less money set asidein the agency's budget to
monitor children who remained inthe home with a parent or
related guardian.
In response, severalinitiatives were launched to
provide support for child actorsand their families.
(34:17):
These have focused onincreasing awareness of domestic
violence issues, advocating formental health resources for
young performers and offeringsupport groups for families of
child actors.
Remi (34:29):
And in one final story of what could have been.
While Steven Spielberg wasplanning his own groundbreaking
dino film, jurassic Park in theearly 1990s, he had one actress
in mind for the role oftech-savvy teenager Lex, a young
actress named Judith Barsi,whom he had met while producing
(34:50):
A Land Before Time, had metwhile producing A Land Before
Time.
Unaware of Judith's tragicpassing, spielberg only found
out about her murder aftertrying to get in touch with
Judith to discuss the role.
Ashley (35:00):
Maria and Judith Barsi are buried in adjoining plots at
Forest Lawn Memorial Park inHollywood.
Judith's headstone reads OurConquering Angel, followed by
Ducky's famous line of yep, yep,yep.
Ducky (35:13):
Yep, yep, yep.
Remi (35:15):
Thank you for joining us for this week's special bonus
episode, and if you or someoneyou know is experiencing
domestic violence or child abuse, help is available.
Please call 1-800-799-SAFE or800-422-4453 or your local
(35:36):
authorities.
Links to various supportservices are also available in
the episode notes.
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