Barbara Barrie (born May 23 1931) is an American actress and author of children's books.
Graduate of The University of Texas at Austin - BFA '52
Graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas
Mother of Jane Harnick and Aaron Harnick
She is the author of two critically acclaimed novels for young adults: "Lone Star" (1989) and "Adam Zigzag" (1995).
She created Tomato Lightning, a spicy chutney available in gourmet food stores.
Received a 1971 Tony nomination as Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in Stephen Sondheim's "Company," and is also featured on the landmark documentary by D.A. Pennebaker on the making of the show's cast album.
Sister-in-law of Sheldon Harnick
Member of alpha epsilon phi sorority
Survived rectal cancer.
Was replaced in the role of Yente during previews of 2004's "Fiddler on the Roof" starring 'Alfred Molina'. The production itself was vilified in the Los Angeles Times for the production's deliberate "ethnic cleansing". Apparently, the endearing Yiddish-speaking character that Barbara had personified had been stripped down to have a WASPish-sounding voice. The other characters, including that of Molina's Tevye, were stripped of their ethnic influences as well except for those directly required by the script. The revival, however, did quite well on Broadway and ran for nearly two years.
Long married to Jay Harnick, the founder and longtime artistic director of TheatreworksUSA, the nation's largest company for young audiences and a training ground for some of the more noted names in entertainment, including F. Murray Abraham, for almost 40 years. During his tenure, Harnick's company performed for 50 million children and earned Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel awards, the only children's theatre to do so. Harnick retired in 2000 and died on February 27, 2007.
