Barbara Barrie, the Oscar-nominated actress who played Hal Linden’s wife on “Barney Miller” and a devoted mother in “Breaking Away,” died Wednesday at her Manhattan home. She was 95. Her daughter, Jane Harnick, told The New York Times that Barrie had a terminal cancer diagnosis and died through medical aid in dying. Her representatives said she supported New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act, which took effect in August. Barrie had first been diagnosed with rectal cancer in 1994, and she later wrote two books about the experience, “Second Act” and “Don’t Die of Embarrassment.” She also promoted colorectal cancer screening and prevention.
Born Barbara Berman in Chicago on May 23, 1931, she grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas, and studied drama at the University of Texas. She moved to New York in the 1950s and found work on some of television’s earliest series. She appeared uncredited in “Giant” and guested on “Route 66,” “The Untouchables,” “Dr. Kildare” and “The Twilight Zone.”
Her breakthrough came with the 1964 drama “One Potato, Two Potato,” which earned her the best actress prize at Cannes. Broadway followed. She played Sarah in the original 1970 production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company” and received a Tony nomination for featured actress in a musical.
Hollywood honored her in 1979, when her turn as the mother in the cycling drama “Breaking Away” brought a supporting actress Oscar nomination. The film collected five nominations in all. On television, she played Liz Miller across nearly 40 episodes of “Barney Miller” from 1976 to 1978. She later appeared in “Suddenly Susan,” “Family Ties,” “thirtysomething” and “Nurse Jackie,” and earned Emmy nominations for guest roles on “Law & Order” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” Her film work also included “Private Benjamin” and “Judy Berlin,” which brought an Independent Spirit nomination.
Fans online remembered her as a defining screen mother, citing her work as the wife of Barney Miller and as Michael Steadman’s mother on “thirtysomething.” Barrie married actor and producer Jay Harnick in 1964. They had two children, Jane and Aaron.
