This article is about the character. For the television series, see "Barney & Friends".
Barney the Dinosaur is a character and the main protagonist of the television series Barney & Friends, and its home video predecessor Barney & the Backyard Gang. A two hundred million year (two dinosaur years) old, six-foot[1] (sometimes seven-foot) tall purple tyrannosaurus rex with a green belly and green spots on his back and his tail and yellow toes, he comes to life through a child's imagination, springing up from a doll to full size. In turn, Barney opens children's eyes to the joys of learning and discovery, to the wonders of make-believe, and to the beauty of unconditional love. He is best known for his silly and optimistic attitude.
His birthplace is Dallas, Texas (as he was created there by the creators), however, he lives and resides in one's imagination. His place of residence would later be expanded in the video Come on Over to Barney's House (2000).
David Voss originally performed as the costume for Barney from 1988 to 1990, and was succeeded by David Joyner, who would later define the costume mannerisms of the character. The character has been succeeded by many other costume performers during Joyner's time and after his resignation. The Barney character was originally voiced by Bob West from 1988 until 2000, but since his resignation has been voiced by many other voice actors.
Barney generally appears with his dino pals BJ, Riff and or Baby Bop, among others.
Barney was ranked at #3 for the highest paid entertainer, a list compiled by Forbes Magazine, in 1993-1994, following Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey.[2][3]
From 1996-1998, Barney ranked as Billboard's top children's artist.[4]
Barney was first created in 1987 by Sheryl Leach, who was looking for a way to entertain her then two year old son, Patrick.[5] 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. Patrick was fascinated by a dinosaur exhibit at a museum, particularly the Tyrannosaurus rex. In response, Sheryl made Barney a T. Rex. Kathy Parker, a fellow teacher-turned-mother 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).[6] In the end, he was colored purple to appeal to both genders (Leach had a thing for the color purple as well) and had his features softened (i.e. "toe balls" in place of claws).
Naming
Some concept names for Barney were Cosby, Colby, and Danny.
Costume
Around a table, the television show’s producers, creator, and the Irene Corey Costume Design team considered the possibilities for how the costume design would look, initially thinking of a plush dinosaur that closely resembled a Tyrannosaurs-Rex. The attributes first designed were approach-ability, “hug-ability,” and playfulness.[7]
Barney was originally a dark purple color, however, on camera appeared blue. The color was adjusted, and was given a lighter purple / magenta color. The costume would weigh about seventy pounds,[8] but was later shaved down to fifty pounds with the final costume.[9] Inside the costume could get up to over 120 degrees.[10] For the performer to walk around, the actor would look through Barney's mouth for vision. When the mouth was closed, the costume actor could not see anything.
Originally the character was intended to be performed by one person in terms of doing the voice and being in the costume (similar to Big Bird). Bob West was the first individual hired to portray the character, however he was too tall for the costume that was already made. David Voss was brought in to fulfill the costume performance. The Barney character was originally portrayed as the actor using their hand to move the mouth while another hand was in one arm of the dinosaur, hence leaving Barney's other arm unfilled.
In 1990, he entered the military as a Cavalry Scout where he was based in Mannheim, He was succeeded in the role by David Joyner. The night before the audition, Joyner had a dream that Barney passed out and that he (Joyner) gave the purple dino mouth-to-mouth CPR. While driving to the audition, he noticed a bilboard that said "Breathe Life Into Your Vacation," which made him think about breathing life into Barney and he decided to be as energetic and animated as possible. Joyner took some of what David Voss had already instilled in Barney and tried to bring out more personality.[11]
The Barney character was now performed with the body performer biting on a bar padded with a sponge connected to Barney's jaw to move his mouth up and down, while giving access to both hands of the costume. Each syllable the voice actor speaks is a movement for the costume actor's to move the mouth. Joyner's mannerisms would later be carried on into other Barney performers during his time with the character and after.
The character would eventually grow to over seven feet when performed by Carey Stinson as he was one of the taller performers.
Voice Portrayal History
Barney's voice was originally very low pitched when he debuted in Barney & the Backyard Gang as the creators thought that since Barney was a big guy, he needed to have a deep voice. The voice was hard to maintain for West, but it was made cheerful when Joyner came into the costume, and it proved to be a more friendly voice. Following West's retirement, Duncan Brannan, Tim Dever, were handed the role of the character, and soon after Dean Wendt, making the final result of the character's voice nasal on the television series.
In the Barney & the Backyard Gang series, Barney had to be kept a secret from the parents. That running gag lasted until Three Wishes where Micheal and Amy's Mom is informed on who Barney is
Although he celebrates his birthday in the Barney franchise, he remains over 200 million years old.
