https://www.jvleahyfh.com/obituary/barrie-youngfellow-freed

Barrie Youngfellow Freed passed this past Monday night. She was 75. She called Woodstock, NY her home since 1989. She loved the town and the friends she met there. Before retiring she worked as an actress on stage and television starring on the long running series “It’s a Living”. Born in Cleveland, Ohio where she performed the title role in several productions of Peter Pan. She could fly with the best of them. She was the best of friends and had many loyal ones. Loved a good story and a nice bottle. Had a great laugh that confirmed her sense of life. Even during her decline, she could shoot off a good one liner. She was so nourished by the care and kindness and love that she received from the staff at Ten Broeck Rehab. Thank you, Catskill. She was married to her husband of 39 years, Sam, who was almost as important to her as her dogs and cats. She is survived by her sister heide rivchun of Cleveland and her sister Kim Rivchun of Providence, RI. Cremation arrangements are under the guidance of the Joseph V. Leahy Funeral Home, Inc. 27 Smith Avenue, Kingston. www.jvleahyfh.com. In lieu of a donation please give someone a loving hug.

RIP.

She had a unique appeal among actresses of that era. RIP

Rest in peace. I remember her from an episode of WKRP and thought she was a pretty good actress.

:rip:

Marc Sotkin who worked for It's a Living and The Golden Girls posted (https://twitter.com/marcsotkin/status/1510356472093360129) a tribute.

It's a Living is one of those shows that no one connected with ever seems to want to talk about. They did a 40th anniversary on one of the retro stations two years ago, and they didn't get anybody to come in and do guest promos or anything. It's never brought up in interviews with Sheryl Lee Ralph. She talks more about that wretched last season of Designing Women she was in, even participating in an all-star reading of the Designing Women pilot episode. They rerun an old Johnny Carson episode where both Susan Sullivan and Sheryl are guests, and Sheryl brings up how she shoots IAL for three weeks out of a month, but it's never mentioned that Susan was on the show at one point.

And honestly, watching the show in recent years in reruns, I never realized how much TGG borrowed heavily from it. Plots, jokes, even sets!

From Paul Kreppel's Facebook page:

It is with great sorrow, infinite love & light I share the following from Sam Freed, our dearest Barrie Youngfellow’s amazing husband. Barrie was very private about her health, but let me say she never lost the twinkle in her eye or that wonderful laugh these last years. She loved the life she was blessed with…. xoxo Barrie Youngfellow Freed passed this past Monday night. She was 75. She called Woodstock, NY her home since 1989. She loved the town and the friends she met there. Before retiring she worked as an actress on stage and television starring on the long running series “It’s a Living”. Born in Cleveland, Ohio where she performed the title role in several productions of Peter Pan. She could fly with the best of them. She was the best of friends and had many loyal ones. Loved a good story and a nice bottle. Had a great laugh that confirmed her sense of life. Even during her decline she could shoot off a good one liner. She was so nourished by the care and kindness and love that she received from the staff at Ten Broeck Rehab. Thank you, Catskill. She was married to her husband of 39 years, Sam, who was almost as important to her as her dogs and cats. She is survived by her sister heide rivchun of Cleveland and her sister Kim Rivchun of Providence, RI. In lieu of a donation please give someone a loving hug.

Richard Kline:

Hey Paul…so saddened by this news. Barrie was a terrific actress. When they asked me to play her husband on IAL I was thrilled. She emanated joy and love of craft. May she rest in peace.

R.I.P.

Very sad indeed......

You do a good job keeping us updated ZB,thank you!!

She had a unique appeal among actresses of that era. RIP

I wonder why Barrie's acting career for all intents and purposes, ended when It's a Living went off the air for good in 1989. If you look at her IMDb page (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0950257/), she only had about three more on-screen acting credits. One was a walk on role on Murder She Wrote in 1990, one was in the original pilot for Blossom as Blossom's mother, Barbara Russo, and her final acting gig was on Law & Order in 1998.

Marc Sotkin who worked for It's a Living and The Golden Girls posted (https://twitter.com/marcsotkin/status/1510356472093360129) a tribute.



From Paul Kreppel's Facebook page:

From Sheryl Lee Ralph's Twitter page (https://twitter.com/thesherylralph/status/1510846311309918210):
RIP Barrie Youngfellow, It’s a Living Actress, Dead at 75 — Read Obituary | TVLine (https://t.co/UeVRTRJCYv)

Here is the most recent photo of Barrie (https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/news/culture/barrie-youngfellow-freed-oct-22-1946-march-28-2022/article_e64e0e52-b43b-11ec-8b92-6321b24068a2.html) that I could find (https://obits.cleveland.com/us/obituaries/cleveland/name/barrie-rivchun-obituary?id=34103676):
https://cache.legacy.net/legacy/images/cobrands/cleveland/photos/photo_20220406_WO0098847_0_20220406.jpgx?w=386&h=500&option=3

Marc Sotkin who worked for It's a Living and The Golden Girls posted (https://twitter.com/marcsotkin/status/1510356472093360129) a tribute.



From Paul Kreppel's Facebook page:

I've been streaming the episodes on Tubi. Unfortunately they only have about half the episodes available.

With that said I agree with Sotkin. This show was really funny and criminally underrated. Marian Mercer is worth the price of admission as she really threw herself into that Nancy role. All of the characters were mostly very likable ..even Sonny especially in that episode when Cassie moved in with him. Golden Girls did steal alot of the plots from this show and also some of the sets. I guess that makes sense as both shows were produced by the same creators. I've watched fairly recent interviews, in the past few years, with both Ann Jillian and also Sheryl Ralph. Neither one mentioned IAL which struck me as a little sad.

So sorry to hear about Barrie. I recently watched the episode on yt where her husband Sam Freed guest starred as Dot's ex boyfriend who came back as a priest.

I've been streaming the episodes on Tubi. Unfortunately they only have about half the episodes available.

With that said I agree with Sotkin. This show was really funny and criminally underrated. Marian Mercer is worth the price of admission as she really threw herself into that Nancy role. All of the characters were mostly very likable ..even Sonny especially in that episode when Cassie moved in with him. Golden Girls did steal alot of the plots from this show and also some of the sets. I guess that makes sense as both shows were produced by the same creators. I've watched fairly recent interviews, in the past few years, with both Ann Jillian and also Sheryl Ralph. Neither one mentioned IAL which struck me as a little sad.

So sorry to hear about Barrie. I recently watched the episode on yt where her husband Sam Freed guest starred as Dot's ex boyfriend who came back as a priest.

It's a Living really feels like one of those shows that no one connected with ever seems to want to talk about. Of course, I could be wrong but from what I've heard and gathered, there was a 40th anniversary (https://twitter.com/AntennaTV/status/1298306645240553473) acknowledgment (https://twitter.com/8train/status/1322301078034092033?lang=en) on one of the retro stations back in 2020, and they didn't get anybody to come in and do guest promos or anything.

It's also never brought up in interviews with Sheryl Lee Ralph. She talks more about that last season of Designing Women that she was in, even participating in an all-star reading of the Designing Women pilot episode.

Once, there was a Tonight Show episode (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5431544/) with Johnny Carson where both Susan Sullivan and Sheryl were guests (https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=johnny&p=99&item=B:44236), and Sheryl brings up how she shoots IAL for three weeks out of a month, but it's never mentioned that Susan was on the show at one point.

Why the did Barrie Youngfellow get the "And Barrie Youngfellow as 'Jan'" credit? That spot is usually reserved for celebrated or veteran actors in a secondary or limited role.

Why the did Barrie Youngfellow get the "And Barrie Youngfellow as 'Jan'" credit? That spot is usually reserved for celebrated or veteran actors in a secondary or limited role.

I'm not really sure. I think there was one season where Ann Jillian also got it but it's been months since I've seen an episode and can't recall. Marian Mercer might've gotten the "and" credit too during the final seasons.

I read somewhere that ABC was really trying to push Barrie and get her into a hit show. There was even a backdoor pilot on Three's Company where she was playing the female who would live with 2 guys but it didn't get picked up.

It's a Living really feels like one of those shows that no one connected with ever seems to want to talk about. Of course, I could be wrong but from what I've heard and gathered, there was a 40th anniversary (https://twitter.com/AntennaTV/status/1298306645240553473) acknowledgment (https://twitter.com/8train/status/1322301078034092033?lang=en) on one of the retro stations back in 2020, and they didn't get anybody to come in and do guest promos or anything.

It's also never brought up in interviews with Sheryl Lee Ralph. She talks more about that last season of Designing Women that she was in, even participating in an all-star reading of the Designing Women pilot episode.

Once, there was a Tonight Show episode (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5431544/) with Johnny Carson where both Susan Sullivan and Sheryl were guests (https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=johnny&p=99&item=B:44236), and Sheryl brings up how she shoots IAL for three weeks out of a month, but it's never mentioned that Susan was on the show at one point.

That's pretty sad. IAL was funny and underrated IMO. Alot funnier than the final season of "Designing Women" which was a show I liked during it's prime but was awful after Delta left. Of course DW was shown on network tv so I guess that's more prestigious than first run syndication where IAL was airing.

FWIW there was a comic con type thing for 80's shows years back (maybe 5 -6 years ago?). I do believe Gail Edwards and Paul Kreppel showed up to represent IAL.

Here is the most recent photo of Barrie (https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/news/culture/barrie-youngfellow-freed-oct-22-1946-march-28-2022/article_e64e0e52-b43b-11ec-8b92-6321b24068a2.html) that I could find (https://obits.cleveland.com/us/obituaries/cleveland/name/barrie-rivchun-obituary?id=34103676):
https://cache.legacy.net/legacy/images/cobrands/cleveland/photos/photo_20220406_WO0098847_0_20220406.jpgx?w=386&h=500&option=3

Maybe it's just my imagination, but I sort of think that Barrie Youngfellow (https://www.google.com/search?q=barrie+youngfollow&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiI5Na8v5ODAxVxm7AFHSGXAggQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=barrie+youngfollow&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzoHCCMQ6gIQJzoECCMQJzoKCAAQgAQQigUQQzoNCAAQgAQQigUQQxCxAzoICAAQgAQQsQM6BQgAEIAEOg4IABCABBCKBRCxAxCDAToQCAAQgAQQigUQQxCxAxCDAToLCAAQgAQQsQMQgwE6BggAEAUQHjoJCAAQgAQQGBAKOgcIABCABBAYUK1-WOS7AWCivgFoDHAAeAGAAdcCiAGRJJIBCDAuMjMuMy4xmAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWewAQrAAQE&sclient=img&ei=EVp9ZciXH_G2wt0Poa6KQA#imgrc=wrmDmsvTUo7ZfM) vaguely resembles Jessica Chastain (https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=57cef164981f7321&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=AM9HkKm3YUg-7PKoHSGtUTWgFhy_i13p-Q:1702713929513&q=jessica+chastain&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjow7DXv5ODAxWdSDABHd4mBlkQ0pQJegQIDBAB).

https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1236555573/photo/barrie-youngfellow-appearing-in-its-a-living.jpg?s=1024x1024&w=gi&k=20&c=xztBmvfPhsGcCTPDdaneme2mAy1K5XAoE3D4WPHz6S4=

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqWf-k1wT71IkLTNh0UoGWI_W_6KvWD4vyFw&usqp=CAU