A talented life cut short - the tragic death of JAWS the Revenge child star Judith Barsi
Thea Brody, played by Judith Barsi, was the daughter of Michael and Carla Brody in JAWS the Revenge.
Her character may have survived the great white shark, but the talented young actress could not escape the murderous hands of her father, just a year after the release of the fourth JAWS film.
On July 28, 1988, shortly after Judith just turned10 years old, reports started to come in that three people had been found dead in a house in West Hills, Hollywood. They were Judith, her mother Maria, and her father József, who had shot and killed his wife and daughter, then set the house on fire and killed himself.
The signs and warnings were all there, but it was too little action that came too late for the young film and TV actress.
Judith Barsi with parents József Istvan Barsi and Maria Virovacz
During her brief career, Judith’s father József, an alcoholic, would be increasingly violent, threatening to kill himself and his family on numerous occasions. He was arrested three times for drunk driving and in December 1986, his wife Maria reported his threats and physical violence to the police. However, after the police found no physical signs of abuse, she found herself unable to press charges against him.
This may have stopped the drinking, but it didn’t stop him threatening to kill Maria and Judith, saying he would cut their throats and burn down the house.
The physical violence continued, and it started to affect Judith to such an extent that she started to put on weight and developed compulsive behaviours. In May 1988, Barsi was taken by her mother to a child psychologist who identified severe physical and emotional abuse and reported her findings to the child protection agencies.
Judith with JAWS The Revenge co-stars Karen Young, Lynn Whitfield and Lance Guest
Sadly. the investigation was dropped when Maria said she was going to divorce József and that she and Judith were going to move out. Unfortunately, she hesitated due to her fear of losing the family home and belongings.
Judith’s short and fear-filled life is the saddest chapter of the JAWS films legacy, but her life and light shall shine on through her sweet performance in that film – including a poignant recreation of the Chief Brody and Sean Brody hand copying scene from the original, and others. Not even her dad can destroy that.
Her screen dad in that film was Lance Guest, who was so moved by Judith’s passing that he even acted as a pallbearer for her funeral, which only gives their moments in the film and the Sean Brody funeral scenes at the start of the film a greater resonance.
Guest, speaking in an exclusive video interview for the 35th anniversary of JAWS the Revenge, recalled his time working with Judith. He said: “She was lovely and a wonderful little girl…adorable.”
After JAWS the Revenge Judith would go onto voice Ducky in the Steven Spielberg Executive Produced The Land Before Time (1988), making it Spielberg’s first dinosaur film, beating Jurassic Park out of the gates by five years. It was released in November, almost four months after Judith’s death.
Ducky was the favourite of all her roles, with her headstone including her famous line in the film, "Yep! Yep! Yep!"
Also released posthumously was another Don Bluth directed feature length animation, All Dogs Go To Heaven (1989), where Barsi voiced Anne-Marie, an orphan befriended by Charlie B. Barkin (voiced by Burt Reynolds).
Judith Barsi and Lance Guest re-enact a scene from Steven Spielberg's classic JAWS (1975)
He’s a German Shepherd that is murdered, but has given up his place in Heaven to take revenge on his killer. Instead, with Anne-Marie’s help he learns an important lesson about kindness, friendship and love.
Fittingly, the end credits song Love Survives, performed by Irene Cara and Freddie Jackson, was dedicated in Judith’s memory. Her memory lives on in her work, here are some of her highlights on the small and big screen.
The television and films of Judith Barsi
By the time Judith was five, Maria was putting her forward for acting roles. Her first was in the 1984 mini-series Fatal Vision, which hauntingly saw her character murdered by her father. The show had a cast of notable film and tv actors including Gary Cole, Karl Malden, Eve-Marie Saint, Gary Grubb, Barry Newman, Andy Griffith and Mitchell Ryan. Judith, playing Kimberley MacDonald, was certainly starting her career surrounded by a very solid wall of acting talent.
The mini-series was based on the true crime book about the murder of Kimberly and Kristen MacDonald and their mother Collette in the family home at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
After this Judith moved on to star in a good number of films and tv series. In 1985 alone she showed up in an episode of Knots Landing, The Twilight Zone and The Fall Guy (this time starring alongside The Six Million Dollar Man, Lee Majors).
1986 brought parts alongside future James Bond, Pierce Brosnan in Remington Steele, a role in M*A*S*H spin-off Trapper John MD, Cheers, Cagney & Lacey, The New Gidget and The Love Boat.
These were big worldwide shows, Judith was obviously talented, and the work would continue beyond perhaps her most famous role, 1987’s JAWS the Revenge.
Judith would continue acting once her role in the JAWS universe was done with two episodes of The Tracey Ullman Show and then St Elsewhere, Growing Pains, and voice work in The Land Before Time and All Dogs Go To Heaven.
Judith’s grave marker
Words by Tim Armitage and Dean Newman
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