With the 2013 year in the history books, below is a list of notable sites and people in the SFV that were lost in the 2013 year (you can review 2012 here). Its possible I missed something, so please share any notable sites and/or people and I will update accordingly. The list below is not in any specific order.
Sites
Catalina Yachts at 21200 Victory Blvd Woodland Hills closed its doors and moved to Florida to make way for another apartment project in the ever expanding Warner Center area. You can read a blog post here.
The Village at Westfield Topanga began construction by demolishing the few remaining businesses on site including the former Home Savings Bank that was used by FedEx and contained a Millard Sheets inspired mural by Marlo Bartels and Astrid Preston. I dont know whatever happened to that mural. You can read a blog post here and here.
The former Vans Shoe Store on 9030 Topanga Canyon Blvd Canoga Park originally closed in 2011 but the cute "circus" like building remained until this year where it was finally demolished. You can read a blog post here.
The original Pinecrest School campus at 14111 Sherman Way Van Nuys closed after 62 years to make way for more housing. Some of these signs were saved by the SFV Relics team. You can read a blog post here.
Camera Craft at 4800 Lankershim Blvd North Hollywood had been in operation since 1947 but closed its doors in 2013. You can read a blog post here.
The old school bar and restaurant Sherman Room at 16916 Sherman Way Van Nuys closed its doors after I have no idea how long they have been in business but want to say at least since the 60's. You can read more here at LA Arts Beat.
Although most people would be happy to see a big bank close down, the Universal Studios Bank of America closed its doors after operating for more than 30 years located at 111 Universal Hollywood Drive Ste 2630 Universal City CA 91608. You can read more here at Studio City Patch.
Fortunately not lost or relocated outside of the SFV, the Rocketdyne Saturn 5 space shuttle engine was relocated from Canoga Park to Chatsworth offices which opens the door for the whole plant to be closed to make way for more.....housing. You can read a blog post here.
Continuing with Rocketdyne, I am not sure what has happened in 2013 at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory but a lot of the old site is no longer present which I was able to visit courtesy a Boeing Bus Tour that was held for the public. As part of the cleanup efforts, the remnants of the cold war era are constantly being removed and cleaned up although there might be delays due to court rulings. At any rate, I expect more removal of the old going into 2014. You can read a blog post here.
Another site not lost but underwent a name change which was Laemmle's Fallbrook 7 at the Fallbrook Center Mall at 6731 Fallbrook Avenue West Hills which became an AMC Theatre. You can read a blog post here.
Huell Howser passed away on January 7 at the age of 67 due to complications from cancer. Although not born or a resident of the SFV, Howser was loved by all Californians and he visited many special and unique sites in the SFV that was broadcast on his popular cable TV shows that helped spread awareness. You can view the SFV sites he visited here.
Bob Tomasino, longtime owner of Oil Can Harry's, a gay dance club in Studio City opened since the late 1960, died in November 2013 after being killed by a drunk driver. You can read more at Studio City Patch.
Art Ginsburg, longtime Studio City activist and owner of Art's Deli died on July 24 at the age of 78 due to complications from cancer. You can read more at Studio City Patch.
"Mouseketeer" and actress, Annette Funicello passed away on April 8, 2013 after a long battle with MS. Her longtime Encino home was damaged in a house fire in 2011 discussed on this blog.
Mort Medway, founder of Mort's Delicatessen in Tarzana, passed away in October after selling his deli which was in operation for 45 years to his manager who kept it running the same.
Paul Walker who became famous for playing Brian O'Conner in the The Fast and The Furious film series died in an unfortunate accident in Santa Clarita on November 20, 2013 at the age of 40. Walker was born in Glendale, raised in Sun Valley where his parents still continue to call home, and graduated from Sun Valley's Village Christian School in 1991.
Fred Kavli founded the Kavlico Coporation in Van Nuys and opened a plant in Chatsworth made a fortune manufacturing automative and aerospace sensors and later gave most of his fortune away to charity. He passed on November 21, 2013 at the age of 86 due to a rare form of cancer.
Fresh on the MLS is the rather unique and secluded home of long time actress Shari Belafonte in Box Canyon near West Hills. The 3 Bed/3 Bath with 3,465 sqft on a lot size of 6 acres spread over 3 parcels built in 1956 is known as "The Castle" because it simply looks like a castle. The home was listed on October 9, 2013 for $1,260,000. Oh and one minor detail, this home is located a stones throw away from Rocketdyne.
For those not familiar with Shari Belafonte, she is the daughter of Harry Belafonte who is an actor and actress best known for singing the "The Banana Boat Song." Shari is known for her role in the 1980's TV series Hotel and as a spokesperson for Slim-Fast during the 90's. Shari has performed in a variety of roles since the early 80's, recorded two albums in the late 80's, and was a still photographer in the mid-2000's.
The listing description states:
Celebrity owned home known as " the Castle" now available! Dramatically surrounded by natural rock and tucked away in Box Canyon sits this one-of-a-kind 4000+sq ft 3BR /3 B home on 6 acres ( 3 parcels). This home features an exquisite living area w/ Australian walnut floors , Arizona river rock, 3 frplcs, gourmet kitchen with granite and cherry wood, rebar & cement walls, French doors and a breezeway that leads to a covered patio, deck and pool. This castle is perfect for entertaining and enjoying the privacy & tranquility of a truly magical setting.
Shari purchased this property back on June 28, 2001 for $630,000 which if sold at today's asking price would net a profit of $630,000 before expenses or bascially double what she originally paid. Is that a coincidence or not?
Image courtesy Google Maps
Shari is no stranger to the SFV as she previously lived in a Sherman Oaks home measuring 4 Beds/4 Baths on 3,759 sqft on a total lot size of 1.01 acres built in 1949. Shari sold this home on June 26, 2001 for $1,485,000 which coincides with the Box Canyon purchase discussed above. Shari's purchase price of this home is unknown. The reason for the sale or her future home is unknown but hopefully she will still call the SFV home.
Hello Magazine 1988 article showing Judith's corpse being carried out while two police officers on the left weep in sorrow. Image courtesy Suaviterinmodo Flickr page.
Welcome aboard the Delorean!
Marty McFly here to take you on a journey to the former Judith Barsi family home at 22100 Michale Street Canoga Park (West Hills). The Delorean has the required plutonium plus some random garbage in the Mr. Fusion reactor ready for this trip. The time circuits are set to August 25, 1988 (25 years ago today) and the flux capacitor is......fluxxing. The engine is running (not stalled this time) so we need to hurry. Hang on, as the ride can be a little bumpy as we travel back in time. Let me start off by saying that this is a tragic story to tell which was just as difficult for me to write as when my father passed away in May 2013 but yet I never knew Judith Barsi. I apologize for starting off your day on a sad note but history cannot be ignored and the more we learn, the better off we theoretically should be.
The name Judith Barsi might not ring a bell but in the mid to late 80's she was an up and coming child actress starring in 72 commercials, 4 TV movies, six big screen film including two animated movies, and made several TV guest appearances. She had appeared in Jaws IV: The Revenege, The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go To Heaven, Punky Brewster, Growing Pains and Fatal Vision where she played a daughter murdered by her father which would eerily foreshadow her future.
Barsi was born to Hungarian parents, József "Arizona Joe" and Maria (Virovacz) Barsi. The real-life-villains.wikia.com site describes Judith's father best:
Joe was a Hungarian-American plumbing contractor and banjo/fiddle musician who was best known as the father of child actress Judith Barsi. Burdened by low self-esteem, stemming from mockery over his Hungarian accent and the social rejection he suffered in Hungary, József developed a drinking problem and a paranoid personality which was to torment him throughout his life, culminating in him murdering his wife and daughter before taking his own life.
Joe was born on November 26, 1932 in a "[rough] industrial" area of Hungary, during the reign of Admiral Horthy. An illegitimate child, József never knew his father, and suffered from social rejection and bullying by other children and from his own school teachers.His first daughter, Ági, later speculated that József resented his mother for allowing his father to abandon him, and consequently viewed all women as "whores".
Joe was originally married to Klara (maiden name unknown) sometime in the late 50's in France after escaping the 1956 Soviet occupation of Hungary. He had two children, a son named Barna (1957 - 1995) and a daugther named Ági (1958 - 2008). Joe developed a drinking problem and began to physically abuse his wife. The family moved to New York in 1964 where Joe began to abuse his son, Barna, which prompted Klara to divorce and move to Arizona sometime in 1969. Barna would later commit suicide in 1995.
Joe moved to California where he worked as a plumber and met Maria, a waitress, in a Los Angeles bar known as a meeting place for immigrants. Maria was also a Hungarian immigrant that fled after the Soviet occupation and suffered from pyschological and physical abuse from her father. Joe would pay for his drinks with $100 bills which caught the attention of Maria as she sought security at that time.
Joe and Maria would later marry sometime in the 70's and their only daughter, Judith, was born on June 6, 1978. Maria was an aspiring actress but never caught a break so she began grooming her daughter to become an actress which was a 1 in 10,000 success rate and would eventually be discovered at a San Fernando Valley skating rink (not sure which one but I would like to speculate that is was Skateland in Northridge but dont quote me).
The judith-barsi.com memorial site described Judith when first meeting an agent as:
She was mistaken for a three-year-old child. Judith was cute, precocious, intelligent and a lot of fun to work with. They signed her on immediately.
Afterwards, Judith Barsi's career took off as she earned an estimated $100,000 per year (or roughly $200,000 in 2013 dollars) by her fourth grade year. This extra income helped the family purchase a modest suburban ranch style home in Canoga Park bordering on West Hills. The home was located at 22100 Michale Street which measures 3 Beds/2 Baths on 1,663 sqft on a total lot size of 0.26 acres built in 1960. The home was purchased sometime in 1985 for an unknown price as the property records dont go that far back but if I had to speculate, it would be somewhere around $120,000 to $150,000 which Judith's salary could pay for in almost one year. Judith attended Nevada Elementary School but would miss school so much because of her acting schedule.
After the home was purchased, Joe was so paranoid that he had a wrought iron fence with spikes built around the property. When talking with neighbors, he would keep the conversation to a minimum and was very secretive. However Maria would talk to the neighbors and some of the other stage moms who would hear the horrible stories of Joe. The pictures below are from a recent home listing where the current owners unsuccessfully tried to sell the home for $699,000 on November 13, 2007 through May 15, 2010. These pictures should not be interpreted as when the Barsi's were living in the home as it has most likely been upgraded since 1988.
And this is when the story gets depressing and sad according to Wikipedia:
As Judith's career success increased, József became increasingly abusive, jealous and paranoid, and would routinely threaten to kill himself, his wife, and daughter. His alcoholism worsened, and resulted in three separate arrests for drunk driving.In December 1986, Maria reported his threats and physical violence toward her to the police. After police found no physical signs of abuse, Maria eventually decided not to press charges against József.
After the incident, József reportedly stopped drinking, but continued to threaten his wife and daughter, which included threats of cutting their throats as well as burning down the house. He reportedly hid a telegram informing Maria that a relative in Hungary had died, in an attempt to prevent her and Judith from leaving America. Physical violence also continued, with Judith telling a friend about her father throwing pots and pans at her resulting in a nosebleed. Due to her father's abuse, Judith began putting on weight and exhibited disturbing behavior, which included plucking out all her eyelashes and pulling out her cat's whiskers. After breaking down in front of her agent during a singing audition for All Dogs Go to Heaven, Judith was taken by Maria to a child psychologist, who identified severe physical and emotional abuse and reported her findings to Child Protective Services (CPS).
The investigation 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 away from József. Friends urged Maria to follow through with the plan, but she resisted, reportedly because she did not want to lose the family home and belongings.
According to a National Enquirer article, Maria had rented a $700 apartment at the Regency Premier located at 8525 Tobias Avenue #314 Panorama City, CA 91402 which is directly across the street from the Panorama Mall. I am not sure why she had picked this location but it wasnt far enough from Joe as he had suspected that Maria was moving out and followed her one day. He noticed her carrying moving boxes into the apartment and asked her about it where Maria replied that she was giving away some items to some friends. Maria suspected that Joe didnt believe her and sensed things were getting worse. She even tried to make the house look like a pigsty to force Joe out as he was a neat freak. But she wanted to maintain her home and belongings and didnt want to lose it including her child's acting career. She had also been waiting on a $12,000 tax refund check that she didnt want Joe to get his hands on and probably needed the proceeds to support Judith and herself living on their own. Judith's co-star from Growing Pains, Tracey Gold, even tried to help out but Maria resisted. On Monday July 25, 1988, Judith had an appointment with Hanna-Barbera which she missed.
Regency Premier Apartment Building 8525 Tobias Avenue Panorma City. Image courtesy Hotpad.com
The paragraph below from Wikipedia describes the horrifying final day for Judith and Maria:
Judith was last seen riding her bike on the morning of Monday, July 25, 1988.That evening, József shot Judith in the head while she was asleep in her room, and then shot his wife, Maria. József spent the next two days wandering around the house, and said during a phone call with Judith's agent on Tuesday night that he intended to move out for good, and just needed time to "say goodbye to [my] little girl."He then poured gasoline on the bodies and set them on fire.After incinerating the bodies, József went into the garage and shot himself in the head with a .32 caliber pistol. On August 9, 1988, Barsi and her mother were interred in unmarked graves at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles.
Roughly two months after the Barsis death, the LA Times reported on September 7, 1988 that the CPS was scolded by a county advisory panel for dropping its investigation of threats of violence against Judith and Maria Barsi. The outcome of the investigation was that more funds be allocated so that social workers are not overburdened and that before a case is closed, the home should be visited and/or the child interviewed.
The same organization that was setup to prevent and fight against such abuse failed miserably and they still continue to do so. Obviously hindsight is 20/20, but there are stories still reported today where women and children face constant threats and abuse. Take for instance, the story of Michelle Kane who was hiding at a friend's house in West Hills from her abusive husband, Michael Kane. On Saturday June 15, 2013, Michael stormed the West Hills house and stabbed Michelle to death in the front lawn. Luckily, the two children were not hurt in this tragedy. Michelle had sought help from the LAPD the previous day but no luck. In a strange "this is a small world" thinking, the Kane family townhome is located a few blocks from the former Barsi home.
In 2004, thanks to the fundraising efforts led by Nancy Kelly and with the gratitude of many fans, headstones were purchased for Maria and Judith which can be seen below.
Judith Barsi grave at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills. Image courtesy Find A Grave.com
Maria and Judith Barsi grave at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills. Image courtesy Find A Grave.com
One side note, there is supposedly a head shot of Judith Barsi showing the gunshot to the head but that can be possible because her body was literally incinerated. For those that are curious, you can view the photo at findadeath.com. If anyone can confirm that the image is legitimate, please let me know.
Now its time to fire up the Delorean and go back to the future. The Barsi home was sold by the survivors of the Barsi family for $124,000 on September 14, 1989 which was 13 months after their deaths. The home changed hands a couple of times where it was last sold on July 12, 2001 to Francisco and Ruth Bernal for $272,000. The property records are shown below which show Maria Barsi at the very bottom. As mentioned earlier, the Bernal family tried to sell this home from 2007 through 2010 and we will keep our eyes and ears open if the listing pops up again. I wonder if there are any ghost stories from this home.
Lastly, if this story has touched you in some way, you can support the Judith Fund at judith-barsi.com and/or the Child Help USA Organization which is for the prevention and treatment of child abuse.
At the very bottom, the name Maria Barsi can be seen for the sales transaction of their Canoga Park home. Image courtesy Propertyshark.com
The 10 minute new story below is a must watch which captures all the details of this story. I am not sure of the original source but I believe its from one of those crime shows.
And the home as it looks today:
You can view more SFV history and BTTF posts here. Sources:
