Actress Barbara Barrie: Death of Oscar Nominee at 95

Barbara Barrie, the actress recognized for her Oscar nomination in 'Breaking Away' and her Tony nomination for 'Company,' died on Wednesday at her home in Manhattan. She was 95 years old. Her daughter, Jane Harnick, confirmed to The New York Times that Barrie had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. The death was medically assisted.

Barrie’s career began in Chicago, where she was born Barbara Ann Berman on May 23, 1931. She moved to Texas at age 9 and attended the University of Texas at Austin. After moving to New York by train and working as a typist, she made her Broadway debut in 'The Wooden Dish.' She later trained with Uta Hagen and performed at the American Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, Connecticut. Her early career included a role in a Flint, Michigan production of 'Taming of the Shrew.'

Her breakthrough came in 1964 with the film 'One Potato, Two Potato.' Directed by Larry Peerce, the black and white picture depicted a white woman who married an African-American office worker. Barrie won the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for this role. In a 1964 interview, she noted that the call for the part arrived the same day police used dogs and fire hoses in Alabama. She described the timing as a spooky coincidence despite not considering herself a crusader.

In 1979, Barrie starred in 'Breaking Away' as the mother of Dennis Christopher’s character. The film was set in Bloomington, Indiana. She requested a specific scene after noticing a gap in the script regarding her character’s relationship with her son. The resulting moment, where she shows her passport to her son, became a key part of the film. She lost the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress to Meryl Streep. Barrie later reprised the role in a short-lived ABC television series, which earned her an Emmy nomination.

On stage, she performed in the original 1970 production of Stephen Sondheim’s 'Company' as Sarah. The production received 14 Tony nominations, a record at the time. She also appeared in the first Broadway runs of Neil Simon’s 'The Prisoner of Second Avenue' and 'California Suite.' Her later stage work included Harvey Fierstein’s 'Torch Song Trilogy' and Joshua Harmon’s 'Significant Other' in 2017.

Television audiences saw Barrie as the wife of Hal Linden’s character on 'Barney Miller' from 1975 to 1982. She also played the grandmother of Brooke Shields’ character on 'Suddenly Susan' from 1996 to 2000. Her film credits include 'Private Benjamin' in 1980 and 'Judy Berlin' in 1999, the latter of which earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination. She received two additional Emmy nominations for guest appearances on 'Law & Order' and 'Law & Order: SVU.'

Barrie was married to Jay Harnick, the artistic director of TheatreworksUSA, from 1964 until his death in 2007. She survived by her daughter Jane, her son Aaron, a Broadway producer, and three grandchildren. In 2014, she publicly announced a diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. She also authored two novels and two books detailing her experiences with rectal cancer and a colostomy.