Heather O' Rourke & Judith Barsi

Two child actresses from the 80s left us far too soon.Heather O'Rourke and Judith Barsi, Two child actresses had their starts on from films and televisions in the 80s until their lives were taken in '88.

By Gladys W. MuturiPublished 2 years ago • Updated a day ago • 7 min read

Heather O'Rourke and Judith Barsi

Heather O'Rourke and Judith Barsi, Two child actresses had their starts in films and televisions in the 80s until their lives were taken in '88.

Heather O'Rourke was a happy blonde little girl started acting at age 5, when a famous director saw her and cast her in a horror flick called Poltergeist making her a huge star until an illness took her young life and Judith Barsi was a happy, adorable little girl who enjoys being on camera but scared to go home because of her alcoholic abusive father until he took her life and her mothers.

Early Life

Heather Michele O'Rourke was born on December 27, 1975, in San Diego, California to her parents Kathleen and Michael O'Rourke. Kathleen was a seamstress and Michael was a construction worker. Her parents divorced when Heather was six years old. Heather's mother would later get remarried in 1984. At the age of five, She starred in some commercials then later landed a recurring role in the sitcom Happy Days as Heather Pfister. According to her mom said letting O'Rourke do this role was viewed as a risk because Happy Days was so close to ending. In the end, though, it turned out to be the best thing for the rising young actor but that will all change until December 27.

O'Rourke and Henry Winkler as Fonzie on Happy Days (1974-1984)

Judith Eva Barsi was born on June 6, 1978, in Los Angeles County, California to her parents Jozef and Maria Barsi. Judith parents were both immigrants from Hungary fled to the US during the 1959 uprising of Hungarian People's Republic. The two immigrated at different times and met at a restaurant in California, where Maria worked as a server. When Judith was five, Maria was pushing and preparing for her to become a star around the time before her fame the family was on welfare and were on food stamps. She was spotted in an ice skating rink and was later booked in TV commercials.

Her Big Break

On December 27, 1975, the child star born in San Diego was discovered by director Steven Spielberg while having lunch in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios with her mother and her older sister. Her older sister Tammy was working as a dancer at the time in the film “Pennies from Heaven.”

Steven Spielberg, with the cast of E.T. and cast of Poltergeist

and just like that O'Rourke was cast as Carol Anne Freeling in Poltergeist after she the scream test. She was cast alongside Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams as her parents: Steve and Diane Freeling, Dominique Dunne as Dana Freeling her older sister, and Oliver Robbins as Robbie Freeling her brother. Poltergeist premiered on June 11, 1982. The film was a blockbuster hit garnered three Academy Awards nominations and for O'Rourke performance making O'Rourke a huge star. Since her film success, O'Rourke family purchased a house in Big Bear, California.

Fun fact: Steven Spielberg didn't direct Poltergeist because he was directing a film which was E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. The film was also a success as well. Anyways, Steven was smart for not directing Poltergeist.

Another Fun Fact: Drew Barrymore was considered for the role as Carol Anne.

O'Rourke as Carol Anne Freeling in Poltergeist (1982)

After Poltergeist, she made more TV show appearances like Webster, The New Leave It to Beaver, Chips, Our House, and other TV appearances. After the death of her castmate Dominique Dunne, O'Rourke and the cast of Poltergeist came back for a sequel.

Poltergeist II: The Other Side premiered on May 23, 1986. The film was a success yet again was nominated for a Young Artist Award.

After Barsi appeared in several commercials, she landed her first role in Fatal Vision playing Kimberley MacDonald. She continued to do more commercials and made guest appearances on TV. She landed on Jaws: The Revenge which was not the best film and voiced the role as Ducky in The Land Before Time.

The film was produced by Steven Spielberg and was a box-office success. By the time she started fourth grade, Barsi was earning an estimated $100,000 per year, she and purchased a home in West Hills, Los Angeles.

Heather's Diagnosis

In early 1987, O'Rourke became ill after her family vacation at the Big Bear Lake. Doctors have tried to find what could be the problem and found nothing and diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. Doctors put her on She was prescribed cortisone injections to treat her causing her cheeks swollen like chipmunk cheeks and her neck swollen. During her time filming Poltergeist 3, the cast and crew noticed her condition and grew concerned but Heather didn't feel concerned and was fine throughout the film.

Behind the Spotlight

Behind Judith's career, she was dealing with personal issues that had been haunting her. Brasi's father Jozef was a drunk and has been abusive towards Maria and Judith. In December 1986, Maria reported his threats and physical violence toward her to the police. After the police found no physical signs of abuse, she decided not to press charges against him. Jozef has threatened to kill Maria and Judith then himself. The physical violence continued, with Barsi telling a friend that her father threw pots and pans at her, resulting in a nosebleed. As a result of her abuse, Barsi began gaining weight and developed compulsive behaviors, such as plucking out her eyelashes and pulling out her cat's whiskers. Barsi was taken by Maria to a child psychologist after she had a breakdown in front of her agent. She was reported by CPS. But the case was dropped after Maria assured the case worker that she intended to begin 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 from him. Maria's friends urged her to follow through with the plan, but she hesitated due to her fear of losing the family home and belongings. If you think that's worse, Judith's mother Maria puts hormone injections on Judith just so she can portray in younger roles. But that would all change until July 25, 1988.

January 31, 1988

Heather was doing well until January 31, 1988. She was unable to keep anything in her stomach and crawled into bed with her parents that night, saying that she didn't feel well. According to Kathleen, Heather said to her saying:

"Mom, I'm not coming back"

The next morning, February 1, sitting at the breakfast table, she couldn't swallow her toast or Gatorade.

O'Rourke's hands were turning blue and she collapsed on the kitchen floor. Kathleen immediately contacted the paramedics. When they arrived, O'Rourke insisted that she was fine but still had no choice. O'Rourke vomits and apologizes to her mother.

"Mom, I love you. I'm Sorry."
Heather's last words.

They took in the ambulance. While she was in the ambulance, she suffered a cardiac arrest. She was airlifted to Children's Hospital of San Diego where it was discovered she had intestinal stenosis and had to have immediate emergency surgery. At 2:43pm, O'Rourke died at the hospital after suffering a septic shock.

She was 12 years old.

The news shocked everyone including the cast and crew of Poltergeist.

July 25, 1988

Seven months after O'Rourke's death, One month after Judith's 11th birthday.

Judith was asleep in her room. Jozef enters her room shooting Judith in the head. Maria heard the shot and went to check on Judith but it was too late Jozef shot Maria dead. Jozef pours flammable liquid on their dead bodies and sets them on fire. A neighbor heard a gunshot and called authorities. József's body was found in the garage, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound as well as Judith's body and Maria's body with flammable liquid all over their bodies. Barsi and her parents were all dead.

She was 11 years old.

Aftermath

After the deaths of Heather and Judith, Heather's mother and her estate filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the hospital and an insurance group. Poltergeist III was released on June 10, 1988, six months after O'Rourke death (One month before Barsi's death). Gary Sherman, director of Poltergeist 3 has admitted he was upset that the film was released and regrets directing the film. Judith’s last credited role All Dogs Go To Heaven was released a year after her death. Judith's neighbor takes in and cares for her 5 pet cats.

These films were dedicated to them in honor of their memory. Nearly 33 years after Barsi's death, Barsi's home appeared on Quibi's Murder House Filp but the episode was never shown and the show was cancelled.