Oscar-nominated actor Barbara Barrie died Wednesday at her New York City home with medical assistance.
She was 95.
Her agent, Gary Gersh, confirmed in a statement Thursday that Barrie’s death was “medically assisted in accordance with the New York State Medical Aid in Dying law, of which she was a proponent and advocate.”
Only Barney and Wojo are left from the cast of Barney Miller now.
She was awesome as the mother in Breaking Away, which, if you haven’t seen, you really should.
I haven’t seen that movie in a long time and I’m going to have to revisit it now.
I recall she was in the Twilight Zone episode that Robert Duvall led. It was S4.E8 Miniature. One of the hour long episodes.
She and Paul Dooley as Dennis Christopher’s parents were both outstanding. Agree that if you’ve never seen it, you really should.
Agreed on Breaking Away. Great performances all around. I can still see Barbara Barrie as the mother holding up her passport, and telling her son how important it was to her as a symbol of what could be possible—even if she was currently limited to a conventional-housewife life.
I’m somewhat alarmed by that “medically assisted” news. I hope that her wishes were fully respected. (I don’t mean to start a can of worms about euthanasia, the availability of which is very important to many people.)
I think that process has become common enough (where it is allowed in this country) that “following the patient’s wishes” is the default setting. Just my opinion, of course.
She really got the short end of the stick on “Barney Miller.” It became clear early on that viewers were more interested in Barney’s life in the squad room and the colorful characters working there than they were in his family life, and that part of the series was rather quickly dropped. I recall those episodes being pretty weak. Glad she went on to appear in things where her talents were appreciated.
I was unaware that “assisted suicide” is legal in 13 states and the District of Columbia. I suppose I just never thought about it.
The first thing I saw her in was REAL MEN, which — didn’t exactly waste her talents, and she was actually kind of perfect in the role, but it’s hard to say more without just announcing the punchline.
There was a mention in the very first episode that Liz hated Barney being a cop and at risk of being killed on the job, and she wished he would get into another line of work. They really never touched on that again, until the episode where she told him that was one of the reasons she was divorcing him (and leaving the show.)
She definitely got the short end of the stick, but at least they gave her character a proper exit.
There’s at least one episode in which Liz tries to talk Barney into moving somewhere safer. The implication being she had accepted him continuing to be a cop while reducing the chances of him getting killed.
And Barney considered it seriously.