Barbara Barrie, who received a Tony nomination for her role in Broadway’s original Company, an Oscar nomination for her performance in Breaking Away and wide recognition as the wife of Hal Linden’s police captain on TV’s Barney Miller, died October 28 at her home in Manhattan. She was 95.
Her death was reported to The New York Times by her daughter Jane Harnick, who said Barrie’s death was medically assisted and that the actor had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Following her breakthrough Cannes Film Festival award-winning performance in 1964’s One Potato, Two Potato, Barrie built a career that encompassed the stage, film and television, making marked contributions to all. She appeared in 11 Broadway productions, including original stagings of Stephen Sondheim’s Company, Neil Simon’s The Prisoner of Second Avenue and California Suite, Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song Trilogy and a 2004 revival of Fiddler on the Roof.
In addition to 1979’s Breaking Away, her film credits included an uncredited role in the classic 1956 drama Giant and as the mother of Goldie Hawn’s character in 1980’s Private Benjamin.
Barrie was most prolific on television, with credits stretching back to the 1950s anthology dramas and such popular 1960s series as Route 66, The Twilight Zone, The Fugitive, Ben Casey and Ironside, among many others. In 1974 she flirted with Gavin MacLeod’s Murray Slaughter on a memorable episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and began her five-season recurring role on Barney Miller the following year. Her character largely was absent beyond the first season as the ABC sitcom increasingly focused on the police precinct workplace comedy rather than the title character’s domestic life.
In addition to her portrayal of Barney Miller‘s Liz Miller, Barrie probably is best known to TV audiences for her series regular role on the 1996-2000 sitcom Suddenly Susan, in which she portrayed “Nana” Keane, grandmother of Brooke Shields’ title character. Barrie appeared in 92 episodes during the show’s five-season NBC run.
Born Barbara Ann Berman on May 23, 1931, in Chicago, Barrie was moved to New York City after college to launch her show business career. She made her Broadway debut in the 1955 play The Wooden Dish, returning four years later in The Beaux Stratagem by George Farquhar. She also appeared in various Off Broadway productions, including 1958’s The Crucible, as well as regional and touring productions.
Her signature stage role arrived in 1970 when she originated the character of Sarah in Company, starring opposite Elaine Stritch, Dean Jones and Beth Howland, among others. She was nominated for a Tony Award for the performance in what would prove to be a seminal Broadway musical.
Barrie’s most recent Broadway role was in Joshua Harmon’s Significant Other in 2017.
In film, Barrie landed her first leading role in 1964’s groundbreaking One Potato, Two Potato, portraying a divorced woman who marries a Black man and in so doing risks losing custody of her child. Both the film and Barrie’s performance were acclaimed highlights of the year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Perhaps Barrie’s most beloved and memorable film performance came in Breaking Away, when she portrayed the mother of the main character played by Dennis Christopher, a small-town young man who dreams of becoming a competitive bicycle racer. Barrie received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance but lost to Meryl Streep in Kramer vs. Kramer. Barrie would reprise the Breaking Away role for a TV series adaptation, earning an Emmy nomination.
Among her numerous other TV credits, Barrie appeared in Family Ties, Law & Order, Pushing Daisies, Nurse Jackie, Kate & Allie, Once and Again and Army Wives. She was Emmy nominated three times, for Breaking Away, Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
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Barrie was the author of two children’s books: 1990’s Lone Star and 1994’s Adam ZigZag. She also wrote two memoirs following her diagnosis of colorectal cancer: Second Act in 1997 and Don’t Die of Embarrassment in 1999.
Barrie was married to Jay Harnick, the founder and artistic director of TheaterWorksUSA, from 1964 until his death in 2007. In addition to her daughter Jane Harnick, she is survived by son Aaron Harnick and three granddaughters.
English (US) ·