Barbara Barrie, the Academy Award, Emmy and Tony-nominated actress who starred in the original production of “Company” and in films including “Breaking Away,” died Wednesday in Manhattan. She was 95 years old.
His daughter confirmed his death to the New York Times and said Barrie’s death was medically assisted following a diagnosis of terminal cancer.
On stage, Barrie made her Broadway debut in 1955 in “The Wooden Dish” and continued to perform in roles on and off Broadway for more than 60 years until taking her final bow in “Significant Other.” She starred in “California Suite” in 1976, “The Crucible” in 1958, as well as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “The Taming of the Shrew” from 1958 to 1959. She was notably a member of the original Broadway cast of “Company,” Stephen Sondheim’s famous 1970s musical. She was nominated for a Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for the role of Sarah.
On screen, Barrie made her film debut in “Giant” in 1956, then starred in “One Potato, Two Potato” in 1964, for which she won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1979, she starred in “Breaking Away,” which was nominated for five Academy Awards. She won the Best Supporting Actress award for her role. On television, Barrie appeared in shows such as “The Defenders”, “Naked City”, “Twilight Zone”, “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour”, “Barney Miller” and “Suddenly Susan”. She earned Emmy nominations for the television adaptation of “Breaking Away,” as well as her appearances on “Law & Order” and “Law & Order: SVU.”
Barrie was born May 23, 1931 in Chicago and raised in Texas. She graduated from the University of Texas in 1952 with a major in drama.
Barrie was diagnosed with rectal cancer in the early ’90s and wrote two books about her battle with the disease in an effort to reduce stigma: “Second Act” in 1997 and “Don’t Die of Embarrassment” in 1999. Years later, in 2014, she announced that she suffered from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a degenerative disease.
In addition to her daughter, she is survived by her son, Aaron Harnick, and three granddaughters. Her husband, Jay Harnick, died in 2007.
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