BARBARA BARRIE CHOOSES MEDICALLY ASSISTED DEATH

Actress Barbara Barrie died at her New York home on 28 October, her daughter Jane Harnick confirmed. According to her family, Barrie chose a medically assisted death after a terminal cancer diagnosis. Barrie worked across film, television and Broadway during a career that brought Oscar, Emmy and Tony nominations. Her television roles included Elizabeth in Barney Miller and Brooke Shields’ grandmother in Suddenly Susan.

Barrie earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as the mother of an aspiring cyclist in the 1979 film Breaking Away. She played the same character in a television adaptation and received an Emmy nomination for that performance. She also played Goldie Hawn’s mother in Private Benjamin and the mother of Edie Falco’s character in Judy Berlin. Her performance in Judy Berlin earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination. Earlier, Barrie won recognition at the Cannes Film Festival for One Potato, Two Potato, a 1964 drama about a custody dispute following an interracial marriage.

On Broadway, Barrie originated the role of Sarah in Stephen Sondheim’s Company and received a Tony nomination in 1971. She also appeared in productions of California Suite and Significant Other. Her work in Breaking Away brought her nominations for both the film and television versions of the same story. Barrie married theatre director and producer Jay Harnick in 1964.