Barbara Barrie, ‘Breaking Away’ and ‘Company’ Actress, Dies at 95

Barbara Barrie, the Oscar-, Emmy- and Tony-nominated actress whose work ranged from the original Broadway production of “Company” to the film “Breaking Away” and television’s “Barney Miller,” died Wednesday in Manhattan. She was 95, according to the death announcement reported by Variety.

Her daughter, Jane Harnick, confirmed the death to The New York Times and said it was medically assisted following a terminal cancer diagnosis. The announcement brought together remembrances of a performer whose career encompassed stage productions, feature films and recurring television roles across several decades.

Barrie earned an Academy Award nomination for her supporting performance in the 1979 film “Breaking Away.” She returned to the role when the film became a television series, earning an Emmy nomination and extending her association with one of her best-known screen projects.

Her television career also included “Barney Miller” and “Suddenly Susan,” alongside appearances in dramas and comedies. Emmy nominations for guest performances on “Law & Order” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” added to recognition that crossed both television genres and generations of viewers.

On Broadway, Barrie originated the role of Sarah in Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s “Company,” which opened in 1970. Her performance earned a Tony nomination for featured actress in a musical, placing her in the original company of a production that examined marriage and modern relationships.

Her theater work extended well beyond that musical, with Broadway credits including “The Prisoner of Second Avenue,” “California Suite” and “Torch Song Trilogy.” Off-Broadway, she appeared in productions including “The Killdeer,” for which she received Obie and Drama Desk awards, according to BroadwayWorld’s account of her career.

Film audiences had recognized Barrie internationally before “Breaking Away.” She won the best actress award at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival for “One Potato, Two Potato,” and her subsequent film credits included “Private Benjamin” and “Judy Berlin,” illustrating the breadth of a career not confined to one medium.

Born Barbara Ann Berman in Chicago, she grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas, and studied drama at the University of Texas before moving to New York. She made her Broadway debut in “The Wooden Dish” in 1955 and continued returning to the stage, making her final Broadway appearance in “Significant Other” in 2017, according to Broadway.com.

Barrie also wrote about her experiences with cancer and living with a colostomy, turning a private health ordeal into published accounts intended to help others. Her books included “Second Act” and “Don’t Die of Embarrassment,” alongside the young adult novels “Adam Zigzag” and “Lone Star.”

Her husband, theater producer Jay Harnick, whom she married in 1964, died in 2007. She is survived by her daughter, her son Aaron and three granddaughters, according to Broadway.com’s obituary, which traced a working life sustained across more than six decades of Broadway appearances.