Actress Barbara Barrie, Known for 'Breaking Away' and 'Company,' Has Died

Barbara Barrie, the actress recognized for her Academy Award nomination in the film 'Breaking Away' and her role in the musical 'Company,' has died. She was 95.

The New York Times reported that Barrie died on Wednesday at her residence in Manhattan. Her daughter, Jane Harnick, informed the publication that Barrie suffered from terminal cancer and that her death was medically assisted.

Barrie first gained national attention in the early 1960s. She was discovered in a production of 'Taming of the Shrew' in Flint, Michigan, which led to her role in the 1964 drama 'One Potato, Two Potato.' Directed by Larry Peerce, the black and white film depicted an interracial marriage, a subject considered novel for American cinema at the time. Barrie won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for her performance in the picture. In a 1964 interview, she noted that the call to join the production arrived the same day police used dogs and fire hoses in Alabama. She described the timing as a spooky coincidence, stating that while she was not a crusader, the events felt connected.

Her career in film continued with 'Breaking Away,' released in 1979. Set in Bloomington, Indiana, the movie featured Barrie as the supportive mother of a teenager obsessed with bicycle racing. She received an Academy Award nomination for her performance, losing to Meryl Streep, who was nominated for 'Kramer vs. Kramer.' Barrie noted in a 2017 interview that she had asked for a specific scene after reviewing a revised script. She wanted a moment to connect with her son, resulting in a sequence where she shows him her passport and encourages him to pursue his dreams. She said the scene would not have been included in the final film if she had not requested it. She later repeated the role in a short-lived television adaptation on ABC from 1980 to 1981, which earned her an Emmy nomination.

On the stage, Barrie had a long history with major theater productions. She played Sarah in the original 1970 to 1972 Broadway run of Stephen Sondheim's 'Company,' receiving one of the record-setting 14 Tony nominations that production garnered. She also appeared in the first Broadway runs of Neil Simon's 'The Prisoner of Second Avenue' and 'California Suite.' Her stage credits extended to Harvey Fierstein's 'Torch Song Trilogy' and Joshua Harmon's 'Significant Other,' in which she acted in 2017.

Television audiences saw Barrie in several recurring roles. She portrayed the wife of Hal Linden's police captain on the series 'Barney Miller,' which aired from 1975 to 1982. She also played the grandmother of Brooke Shields' character on 'Suddenly Susan' from 1996 to 2000. Her television work included a role as Mamie Eisenhower in the 1979 miniseries 'Backstairs at the White House.' She received additional Emmy nominations for guest appearances on 'Law & Order' and 'Law & Order: SVU.' Her filmography included 'Private Benjamin' in 1980 and 'Judy Berlin' in 1999, the latter earning her an Independent Spirit Award nomination.

Barrie was born Barbara Ann Berman in Chicago on May 23, 1931. She moved to Texas at age 9 and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. She traveled to New York by train and worked as a typist before making her Broadway debut in 'The Wooden Dish.' She studied acting with Uta Hagen and worked at the American Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, Connecticut. Beyond acting, she wrote two novels and two books about overcoming rectal cancer and a colostomy. In 2014, she publicly announced a diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Barrie was married to Jay Harnick, the longtime artistic director of TheatreworksUSA, from 1964 until his death in 2007. She is survived by her daughter, Jane Harnick, her son Aaron, a Broadway producer, and three grandchildren.