Barney & Friends

## Overview

The show is about a friendly purple dinosaur who comes to life when children use their imaginations. They sing songs, do fun activities, and lots more, all related to education.

## Cast

In 1998, the News in Purple section of the Barney Online website launched short autobiographies for five of the past cast members, who would all later appear in a video special released on January 12, 1999.

 Lauren King (Kathy)
"Some of my favorite activities are:"
* Soccer
* Gymnastics
* Shopping
* The movie *Titanic*
* The group 'N Sync (I want to meet them in person)
* Shania Twain
* Most any beach
* I love to eat crab legs
 Brian Eppes (Michael)
 Pia Manalo (Min)
 Hope Cervantes (Tosha)

Autobiographies for three more alumni appeared later in 1999:

 Jessica Zucha (Tina)(Fall 1999)
Jessica's fondest memories of the Backyard Gang:
* Celebrating her 10-year birthday party with the cast and crew during a lunch break.
* When Brian Eppes (Michael) played with her Baby Alive toy!
* When Leah Gloria (Luci) and Lauren King (Kathy) treated her to a birthday dinner at a Mexican restaurant.
* In 1998, she was a sophomore in high school and involved in many activities, such as a student council, National Thespian Society, and the Dance Team. Outside of school she played a role in a summer production of *Grease*. She also spent a lot of time with her 3-year-old brother.

Her hobbies:
* Talking on the phone, and spending time, with her friends
* Driving her new Honda Civic
* Reading novels and especially works by William Shakespeare
* Her plans in the early 2000s were to attend college and receive a degree in Theatre Arts, and to pursue a degree in law specializing in litigation.
* A photo of her Quincianera celebration from October 1997 was also seen on the Barney Online website.

 John David Bennett II (Shawn)(February 2000)

All content was removed by Lyons Partnership when the website was redesigned in early 2001.

## Production timeline

* **1987:**Sheryl Stamps Leach created Barney the dinosaur, after her son, Patrick, was more interested in dinosaurs. Originally, Barney was going to be a teddy bear. The creation of Barney was helped and approved by Kathy Parker, on a few conditions, where the dinosaur had to be a gender-neutral color and was to not appear menacing.
* **1988:** Bob West, the voice of Barney, and the first six kids auditioned for the show. Barney's costume actor was David Voss.
* **1989:**One of the kids -- Jason (Salim Grant), in this case, was replaced by Derek (Rickey Carter).
* **1990:**For this year, Barney became a magenta-purple color.
* **Early 1991:**David Joyner replaced David Voss as Barney's costume actor. Kathy (Lauren King) joins the gang.
* **October 1991:** The TV series began production, starting with Season 1. Min, Shawn, and later Tosha join the gang, while Adam and Amy leave the show permanently.

## List of episodes

* Season 1 (1992)
* Season 2 (1993)
* Season 3 (1995)
* Season 4 (1997)
* Season 5 (1998)
* Season 6 (1999-2000)
* Season 7 (2002)
* Season 8 (2003-2004)
* Season 9 (2004-2005)
* Season 10 (2006)
* Season 11 (2007)
* Season 12 (2008)
* Season 13 (2009)
* Season 14 (2010)

## Broadcast history

Main article: Television broadcast timeline for Barney & Friends

#### Funding credits

From 1998 through 2005, there were no new underwriters for Barney & Friends.

## Weblinks

* http://www.barneyonline.com (1997-2002)
* http://www.pbs.org/barney (early 1999–late 2001)
* http://www.hitentertainment.com/barney (2002-2018)

## Gallery

Season 1 title screenSeason 2 title screenSeason 3 title screenSeasons 4 to 6 title screenSeasons 7 to 13 title screenSeason 14 title screen