Judith Barsi was one of the rising stars in the 80s, and many of her directors were keen on the child actress getting extensive work as she progressed in her career. However, the promising child actress would record her last performance at the age of 10, before she and her mother were allegedly killed by her father, who reportedly committed suicide just moments after.
The actress’s final performance came in the form of lines that she had recorded for the film, All Dogs Go to Heaven, which featured Burt Reynolds as the principal protagonist of the film. After the tragic passing of the young actress, it has been reported that it took Reynolds more than a few takes to get through his final scene for the film.
Burt Reynolds allegedly took 60+ takes to get through the final scene of the film
The final lines of the film were recorded before the alleged murder-suicide of Judith Barsi, her mother, and her father. Her father, József Barsi, as reported by the LA Times, had been very vocal about his plans to kill his wife and daughter. The outlet also reported that József had also threatened to kill the mother and the child to their faces.
According to various sources, it took Burt Reynolds more than 63 takes to get through filming the final scene, where Barsi says goodbye to Reynolds’ character. According to IMDB, the count is closer to 70. Don Bluth, who was an animator on the film, was also especially heartbroken. Burt Reynolds’ final cut of the performance was still emotionally laden, as the actor’s voice could be heard breaking as he said goodbye to Barsi’s character Anne Marie.
Burt Reynolds recorded his lines while looking at a photo of Judith Barsi
Burt Reynolds, as reported by Dexerto, wanted to record his lines while looking at a picture of the young actress. The raw emotions that the situation might have caused are clear in the recording of the dialogue, where Reynolds’ voice can be heard breaking a little.
While Judith Barsi had a very storied career ahead of her, the actress left behind a slew of commercials and some major film appearances as her body of work. Her agents had described her as sophisticated for her age, and at a time when child actors were rare, Barsi was considered to be the gold standard for a performer her age.
