Barney

**Barney The Dinosaur** is a two hundred million year (two dinosaur

years) old, six-foot tall, reddish-purple tyrannosaurus rex with a green belly, who comes to life through a child's imagination. He is best known for his friendly, kind, optimistic personality and positive attitude.

## Creation

 Age

Barney was first created in 1987 by Sheryl Leach, who was looking for a way to entertain her then 2 year old son, Patrick. Originally Barney was going to be a blanket. When that was proven to be too hard, he became a teddy bear who came to life. However, Patrick was fascinated by a dinosaur exhibit at a museum, particularly the Tyrannosaurus rex, so Sheryl made Barney a T-Rex. Kathy Parker, who had helped Sheryl create the character, agreed to the change, but on the condition that he was not to appear menacing (a realistic t-rex would have scared her daughter Kaitlin). In the end, he was colored purple to appeal to both genders (Leach had a thing for the color purple as well), had his features softened (i.e. "toe balls" in place of claws), and was named Barney. His costume, as well as the costumes for his Dino companions, Baby Bop and BJ, were designed by Irene Corey Design Associates.

## Portrayal

### Costume Actors

* David Voss (1988–1990)
* David Joyner (1991–2001)
* Carey Stinston (1994, 1998, 2001, 2002–present)﻿
* Alan Bruce (1994, understudy in *Barney Live in New York City*)
* Josh Martin (1997–1998)
* Maurice Scott (1997, 2004)
* Antwuan Steele (1999–2001, 2010–2011)

### Voice Actors

* Bob West (1988–2001)
* Duncan Brannan (1997–1999, 2000–2002)
* Tim Dever (2000–2002)

* Dean Wendt (2002–present)

## Catchphrases

* Super Dee Duper
* T-rific!
* Stu-u-u-pendous
* That was fun!
* Oh, boy! Oh, boy!
* Remember, I love you!
* Hi everybody!
* You are special!
* Aw, Shucks!

## Appearances

* Barney debuted in "**The Backyard Show**", though he was introduced to most of **The Backyard Gang** in "**A Day at the Beach**". The first three videos of the **Barney & the Backyard Gang** series featured Barney with a slightly deeper voice, perhaps larger eyes, a visible red tongue (until 1990), and a much darker color of purple (which turned more magenta as the series went on).
* Since "**Waiting for Santa**", Barney has been a magenta color technically. Since then he has changed his appearance slightly and gotten a lighter magenta color over time. Despite this, his color is only claimed as purple by HIT Entertainment.
* From 1988 to 1990, the skinner Barney costume appears, and from 1991 present, the chubbier Barney costume appears.
* In 2007, Barney made a special appearance in ***The Sunny Side Up Show*** with Nina for Thanksgiving. He made another appearance with Sean in the St. Valentine's Day episode in 2009. Barney also hosted "**Sprout's Dino-Mite Valentine's Sing-A-Long**" with Dorothy The Dinosaur, which contained a back-to-back marathon of *Barney & Friends* and Dorothy The Dinosaur.
* Barney (along with **Baby Bop** and **BJ** ) has made appearances in the **Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade**. They also appeared in "Kids for Character".
* Barney appeared in the **We Are Family** music video along with characters from fellow children's TV shows.
* Barney also made an appearance with Dolly Parton in 2004 to open her Dollywood amusement park.
* Barney also appeared at CPTV's 50th anniversary special. Some clips from to are shown during the opening to the special.
* His attitude can sometimes be sillier but he is also friendly and polite to the kids.
* Barney also appeared in an interview with Reilly Dever for **Barney's Great Adventure: The Movie**.

## Trivia

* Some concept names for Barney were Cosby, Colby, and Danny.
* Although Barney's birthday has been celebrated five times on the series (including **Barney's Birthday Bash**), he remains over 200 million years old.
* Barney's favorite foods are peanut-butter sandwiches (with a glass of milk), vegetables, pumpernickel bread, and pistachios (as of the Season 11 episode with the same name).
* Barney wears happy dancing shoes six times in videos/episodes/shows. First being The Backyard Show, second being I Can Do That!, third being If The Shoe Fits..., fourth being Barney's Talent Show, fifth being On Again, Off Again, and sixth being the new content of The Best of Barney.
* In the Barney And The Backyard Gang series, Barney had to be kept a secret from the parents. That running gag lasted until the TV series, Barney and Friends, where the adults are also allowed to interact with him.

## See Also

* **Barney Through The Years**
* **Alternate Barney Costumes**