Barbara Barrie (born May 23 1931, Chicago, Illinois) is an American actress and author of children's books. Born as Barbara Ann Berman in Chicago, but raised in Texas, Barbara Barrie has had a lengthy career on stage and in film and television. She is probably best known for her role on Suddenly Susan, in which she played Susan's (Brooke Shields) grandmother. She briefly played Hal Linden's character's wife on Barney Miller until the character was written off the series. Most recently, she had a recurring role on the TV series Dead Like Me. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1980 for her role as "Evelyn Stoller", the mother of the main character in Breaking Away. In 1970, Barrie starred in the original Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim's groundbreaking musical Company as "Sarah", the weight-watching, karate practicing married friend of lead character "Robert". She was nominated for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical at that year's Tony Awards, which she lost to Patsy Kelly (No, No, Nanette). Barrie is the author of two critically acclaimed novels for young adults: Lone Star (1989) and Adam Zigzag (1995). Barrie, who is Jewish,[1] is a widow and the mother of two children, Aaron and Jane. Her late husband, Jay Harnick (d. 2007), was the brother of the musical lyricist Sheldon Harnick (Fiddler on the Roof). She was treated successfully for rectal cancer and wrote a novel, Second Act: Life After Colostomy and Other Adventures, about the experience. A near-encounter with Barrie is the subject of Christine Lavin's song "The Moment Slipped Away."
References
- ^ Pfefferman, Naomi. "Worshipping Suburbia", The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, 2000-02-25. Retrieved on 2006-12-13.
