BJ is a main recurring character on the television series, Barney & Friends.
A seven-year-old yellow Protoceratops, BJ made his first appearance in season two of the show[2] with the episode, "Look At Me, I'm 3!", in 1993. He debuted as a six-year-old, but eventually turned seven in the national stage show tour of Barney's Big Surprise (1996-1998).
BJ is a good friend of Barney's and the older brother of Baby Bop, whom he frequently calls "Sissy", though on rare occasions, he does call her by name. He is also Riff's cousin and his best friend.
BJ is described as an impulsive dinosaur[3] but is always eager to help his friends. As an active seven-year-old, BJ also likes to run, jump, and ride around on his red scooter. Although he loves baseball, basketball and soccer, it's safe to say that BJ has never met a sport he didn't like. He also likes to play the drums and the guitar. It was established in Come On Over to Barney's House that he also played drums in his rock band, 'BJ and the Rockets'. BJ enjoys to pretend to be Captain Pickles, his superhero alter-ego, with the name being a nod to his favorite snack, pickles.
BJ's theme song is none other than the titular, "BJ's Song".
History
Creation
The writers on Barney & Friends added BJ because they wanted a sibling relationship to work with (as characters Barney and Baby Bop are just friends) in order to have more relatable stories that children watching could understand and relate to. [4]
Naming
BJ was named after Sheryl Leach's father, Billy Joe "B.J." Stamps.[5] Originally spelled B.J., the name was reduced to simply BJ starting in Barney's Fun & Games, to avoid questions as to what the name stood for.
Costume
History
The initial design of BJ was created by an individual in the marketing department for The Lyons Group, owners of Barney & Friends. Irene Corey, who built the original costumes for Barney and Baby Bop rejected and refused to build the design that was conceived. Jess Nelson, a production designer for the show, was tasked by Leach to use some elements from the initial sketch and Irene Corey's feedback when reworking BJ's design. The suit was then built by Irene Corey and her niece Suzanne Lockridge.
When the costume builders were developing the dye formula for the costume, they initially made his color far too bright. This became a problem for the video engineers in the control room as BJ’s color was spiking the camera equipment, causing everything else in the shot to dim. Jess Nelson solved this issue by adding a little black to BJ’s dye formula!
On camera, unseen in any final videos, BJ's color was seen as white as opposed to being yellow on camera, which was a similar occurrence that happened to Barney where his color turned blue as opposed to purple. BJ's white color caused the video electronics to spike and automatically dim the video feed during the early stages of production.[6]
Design
In BJ's early appearances seen on the show, he was slightly taller than Barney. BJ was redesigned in Season 3; his height was shrunken to better suit his age of six-years-old (and later seven).
BJ always wears his red baseball cap with his red and white sneakers. He has three hairs on his frill that goes in front of his baseball cap.
See Also: BJ Through the Years
Portrayal
Body Portrayal History
One mannerism for BJ is that whenever he's stationary, he would keep his arms moving.[7]

Barney and BJ with Patty Wirtz, the original voice actress of BJ
Voice Portrayal History
BJ's voice was originally a much deeper voice when he debuted in "Look At Me, I'm 3!". The voice became higher pitched as time passed throughout the years, to fit his young age and as he shrunk down to scale.
Actors
Costume Actors
- Jenny Dempsey (1993)
- Jeff Brooks (1994-2002)
- Mike Hagan (1996, Barney's Big Surprise)
- Pat O'Connell (1996-1998)
- Kyle Nelson (1997-2010)
- Adam Brown (1997, some shots of "E-I-E-I-O")
- Charles L. Shaw (1999-2002)
- Jerad Harris (2003-2004, 2011)
- Dave Kendall (2003-2004)
Voice Actors
- Patty Wirtz (1993-2011)
Trivia
- Originally, BJ had a trademark whistle that would let the audience know of his arrival.[8] Although it was not heard in Barney Safety or Barney's Fun & Games, it was officially discontinued in Barney's Musical Scrapbook.
- In November 1998, it was announced that BJ was going to have his own animated spin-off series titled BJ and the Radical Rumblebutts which would've been produced by Lyrick Studios and Toronto’s Portfolio Films.[9] The project didn't come to fruition however, scripts were written.
Voices
- Carol Farabee was BJ's understudy in Barney Live! In New York City.
- Like the voices of Barney and Baby Bop, BJ was voiced by an unknown stand-in for the live show of Barney Live! World Tour - A Celebration!.
Appearances
- Look At Me, I'm 3! (first appearance)
- My Favorite Things
- Stop, Look and Be Safe!
- An Adventure In Make Believe
- A Very Special Delivery! (cameo)
- If the Shoe Fits...
- I Can Be a Firefighter!
- Twice Is Nice!
- On the Move
- Gone Fishing!
- It's Raining, It's Pouring...
- Who's Who on the Choo Choo?
- Hats Off to BJ!
- Up We Go! (cameo)
- First Day of School
- We've Got Rhythm
- Tick Tock Clocks!
- Let's Build Together
- Going on a Bear Hunt
- Let's Eat
- Good, Clean Fun!
- Easy, Breezy Day!
- Oh, Brother...She's My Sister
- E-I-E-I-O
- Trading Places
- Circle of Friends
- Colors All Around
- Seven Days a Week
- First Things First!
- Easy Does It!
- A Package Of Friendship
- Stick with Imagination!
- Itty Bitty Bugs
- Grandparents Are Grand (cameo)
- You've Got to Have Art
- Count Me In!
- Good Job!
- It's Home to Me
- Here Comes the Firetruck!
- Ready, Set, Go!
- Tea-riffic Manners
- Puppy Love
- Bunches of Boxes (cameo)
- Play for Exercise!
- Come Blow Your Horn!
- Numbers! Numbers!
- This Way In! This Way Out!
- Play It Safe!
- It's a Happy Day!
- Splish! Splash!
- BJ's Really Cool House
- Sharing Is Caring!
- It's Hot! It's Cold!
- Day and Night
- Play Piano with Me! (cameo)
- A Picture of Friendship
- Squares, Squares Everywhere!
- Let's Go for a Ride!
- That Makes Me Mad!
- It's Your Birthday, Barney!
- It's Showtime!
- Everybody's Got Feelings
- Caring Hearts
- Let's Make Music!
- Movin' Along
- Let Your Creativity Fly!
- Imagine That!
- All About Me
- My Baby Brother
- Keep On Truckin'
- I'm A Builder
- Coming On Strong
- Let's Play Games!
- You Can Count on Me!
- A Wonderful World of Colors and Shapes
- Easy as ABC
- Look What I Can Do!
- Making a Move!
- Home, Safe Home
- On the Road Again
- My Friends, The Doctor and the Dentist
- Welcome, Cousin Riff
- Special Skills
- Airplanes
- Boats
- Butterflies
- Bugs
- Shapes
- Colors
- Seeing
- Hearing
- Arts
- Movement
- BJ's Snack Attack
- Counting
- Letters
- Pets
- Winter
- Summer
- Caring
- Rhythm
- Playing Games
- Fun with Reading
- Making Mistakes
- Separation
- Days of the Week
- Sharing
- Rabbits
- Ducks and Fish
- Mother Goose
- Fairy Tales
- Dancing (cameo)
- Singing
- Neighborhoods
- China
- Pistachio
- Full Team Ahead
- The Magic Words
- Bop 'til You Drop
- The Sleepless Sleepover
- Little Red Rockin' Hood
- The Whole Truth
- The Wind and the Sun
- The New Kid
- The Big Garden
- Listen!
- Lost and Found
- Pot Full of Sunshine
- Trail Boss Barney
- Get Happy!
- For the Fun of It
- Starlight, Star Bright
- No, No, No!
- The Emperor's Contest
- Guess Who?
- Sweet Treats
- Best in Show
- That's What a Mommy Is
- The Shrinking Blankey
- The Awful Tooth
- The Blame Game
- BJ The Great
- Gift of the Dinos
- Way to Go!: A Travel Adventure
- Riff to the Rescue!: A Wild West Adventure
- Lights! Camera! Action!: A Movie Adventure
- To Catch a Thief: A Mystery Adventure
- The Amazing Captain Pickles: A Hero Adventure
- A Game for Everyone: A Sports Adventure
- The Reluctant Dragon: A Fairy Tale Adventure
- Bienvenido, Barney: Mexico
- Big Brother Rusty: China
- The Music Box: Switzerland
- The Good Egg: Kenya
- Home Sweet Earth: The Rainforest
- Barney Live! In New York City
- Imagination Island
- Barney Safety
- Barney's Fun & Games
- Barney's 1-2-3-4 Seasons
- Barney's Sense-Sational Day
- Barney's Musical Scrapbook
- Camp WannaRunnaRound
- Barney's Adventure Bus
- Barney in Outer Space
- My Party with Barney
- Barney's Big Surprise
- Barney's Halloween Party
- Barney's Great Adventure (cameo)
- Sing and Dance with Barney
- What a World We Share
- Walk Around the Block with Barney
- Let's Play School
- Barney's Night Before Christmas
- More Barney Songs
- Barney's Rhyme Time Rhythm
- Super Singing Circus
- Come on Over to Barney's House
- Be My Valentine, Love Barney
- Barney's Dino Dancin' Tunes
- Barney's Musical Castle
- Let's Go to the Zoo
- Barney's Pajama Party
- You Can Be Anything
- Barney's Beach Party
- Round and Round We Go
- Barney's Christmas Star
- Barney Songs From the Park
- Read with Me, Dance with Me
- Barney's Best Manners: Your Invitation to Fun!
- Barney's Colorful World!
- Let's Go to the Farm
- The Land of Make-Believe
- Can You Sing That Song?
- Let's Make Music
- Let's Go to the Fire House
- Barney's Dino-Mite Birthday!
- Celebrating Around the World
- Barney's Animal ABC's
- Hi! I'm Riff!
- The Best of Barney
- Once Upon a Dino Tale
- Barney's Top 20 Countdown
- Let's Go on Vacation
- Barney's Jungle Friends
- Let's Play Outside
- A Counting We Will Go
- Best Fairy Tales
- I Can Do It!
- A Very Merry Christmas
- I Love My Friends
- Barney Live! In New York City
- A Day in the Park with Barney
- Barney's Big Surprise
- Barney's Musical Castle
- Barney's Theatre
- Barney's Colorful World!
- Barney Live! - The Let's Go Tour
- Barney's Musical Park
- Barney's Let's Imagine
- Barney's Dino-Mite Birthday! - Live On Stage
- Barney's Space Adventures
- Barney Rocks! El Concierto en Vivo!
- Barney Live in Concert - Birthday Bash!
- Barney Live! World Tour - A Celebration!
- Barney's Greatest Hits - Live On Stage
See Also
References
- ↑ Barney and Friends Veteran Actor Shares Success as a Little Person
- ↑ Baby Bop will get a brother on "Barney'
- ↑ PBS Ready To Learn Caregiver Guide
- ↑ TELEVISION; New Season, Old Cast, Room for One More
- ↑ THE PURPLE ONE\ THERE'S NO STOPPING HIM
- ↑ | Purple Roads Episode Eighty Nine | Kyle Nelson "BJ Body Actor Barney & Friends"
- ↑ | Just for parents
- ↑ New development mandate at Lyrick