A versatile character actress, Barrie has a slightly wry, worried expression and some interesting credits, especially on stage and television. Often playing warm, mature, sometimes wisecracking comedic and dramatic roles, she acted regularly on early TV, Broadway and in theatre festivals in the early 1960s. After several small parts in features she landed a lead in the interracial love story, "One Potato, Two Potato" (1964), winning the Best Actress award at Cannes. Barrie acted less during the late 60s as she began to raise a family, but enjoyed a notable Broadway comeback as part of the landmark Stephen Sondheim-Harold Prince musical, "Company" (1970). Subsequent stage work included two Neil Simon comedies, "The Prisoner of Second Avenue" (1972) and "California Suite" (1976), a stint in "Isn't It Romantic?" (1984) and Anne Meara's "After Play" (1995-96).
TV work picked up as well, and in 1975 Barrie essayed one of the roles for which she is best remembered, Hal Linden's sensible, quietly sardonic wife on the dry-witted ABC sitcom, "Barney Miller". After the first season the show moved into Barney's workspace, with Barrie only making the occasional appearance. She resumed her feature career with an Oscar-nominated turn as the bicyclist hero's witty, yet supportive, mother in the sleeper "Breaking Away" (1979), and enjoyed further success as Goldie Hawn's mother in "Private Benjamin" (1980). Barrie later reprised both roles in the TV spinoffs, and appeared in several other series during the 80s, though none turned into hits. She kept busy, bringing her smooth professionalism to the feature "After the Rain" (1988) and the TV-movies "The Execution" (1985), "My First Love" (1989) and "The Odd Couple: Together Again" (1993). She returned to series TV as Brooke Shields' wise, knowing grandmother in the sitcom "Suddenly Susan" (NBC, 1996-2000).
Family
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Brother-in-law: Sheldon Harnick.
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Daughter: Jane Caroline Harnick.
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Father: Louis Berman.
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Mother: Frances Rose Berman.
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Son: Aaron Louis Harnick. acted in Judy Berlin (1999), which also featured Barrie
Education
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University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, BFA, 1953
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Herbert Berghof Studio, New York, New York
Milestones
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1955 Played Edna, a nurse, on a number of episodes of The Phil Silvers Show
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1955 Made New York stage debut in The Wooden Dish
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1956 Feature film debut, in a bit part in Giant
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1957 Played a variety of roles regularly on the syndicated police drama series, Decoy
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1963 Played first sizable feature film role in The Caretakers , billed 11th
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1964 First leading role in film, One Potato, Two Potato
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1970 Starred on Broadway in the Stephen Sondheim musical, Company
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1981 Reprised her role as Evelyn Stohler, the mother, from the feature Breaking Away for the short-lived ABC sitcom version
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1987 Played Mrs. Amberville on the CBS romance miniseries, I ll Take Manhattan
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1994 Underwent treatment for colon cancer
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1999 Played a Jewish mother in son Aaron Harnick s feature directorial debut 30 Days
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1999 Portrayed the mother of the title character in the independent Judy Berlin
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2000 Cast as a wheelchair-bound matriarch in the Off-Broadway play Current Events
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2003 Received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series for her role in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
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Acted for a time on the long-running daytime drama, Love of Life
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Acted in Arthur Miller s The Crucible at the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford CT
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Acted in the New York Shakespeare Festival in 1960, 1965 and 1969
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Played Elizabeth Miller on the long-running ABC sitcom, Barney Miller ; initially as a regular then a recurring character
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Played Ellen Hobbs on the short-lived CBS supernatural detective series, Tucker s Witch
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Played Harriet Benjamin on the CBS sitcom, Private Benjamin , reprising her role from the 1980 feature film
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Played Norma Brodnik on the short-lived NBC sitcom, Diana , starring Diana Rigg
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Returned to NYC stage as co-star of After-Play by Anne Meara
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Returned to series TV as Brooke Shields grandmother on the NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan