Carey Stinson

Carey Scott Stinson (born March 21, 1968 in Washington, D.C.) is an American actor and current photographer. He is best known to be one of the costume performers of Barney, portraying the character for twenty-two years from 1991 up until 2013,^[2] and 2019. Stinson was the third official costume performer of Barney following David Voss and David Joyner respectively.

Career[]

Barney []

Barney & The Backyard Gang[]

After finishing college and trying to figure how how to make a living as a musician. Stinson, at twenty-three years old,^[3] was told by his father to get a job. Upon seeing a newspaper ad for a job at a Chili's restaurant, Stinson was hired as a busboy.

The other busboy asked Stinson if he could work Saturday for him due to the busboy having to be Barney the next morning. Stinson, wondering more what Barney was, was informed by the busboy that they'll be leaving for college and convinced Stinson to talk more with Sloan Coleman. After meeting Coleman at her house, Stinson was told to watch one of the Barney & The Backyard Gang and that she'll call him. After not getting a callback, Stinson called Coleman to learn that the position was already fulfilled by someone else due to them having a theater background.

Due to the other person asking for the first month off, Coleman offered Stinson the role for the month and eventually promoted him as the second Barney for her business. Stinson went around the Dallas/Fort Worth area in a van doing birthday parties in homes as Barney.

Due to Barney becoming popular at this point, the birthday party business was shut down. Coleman was hired at The Lyons Group to run special events for Barney and wanted Stinson to join her. Coleman informed Stinson that he had one audition in front of Sheryl Leach, Kathy Parker and Dennis DeShazer, the creators of Barney & Friends.

Barney & Friends[]

Stinson jumped into the Barney suit directly after David Joyner, another Barney costume performer, did a fashion show at JCPenney. Wanting to see how well he performed, the creators watched Stinson do a thirty-minute meet and greet with the children, with DeShazer approving him afterwards. Stinson was eventually hired to perform as Barney for The Barney Spot at JCPenney tour in 1992^[4] for five months. Stinson then did PR as Barney for various projects and eventually became the lead as Barney for the Barney's Big Surprise and Barney's Musical Castle tours.

Carey Stinson holds Barney doll in Purple Tales Podcast studio — Carey Stinson holds a Barney doll in *Purple Tales Podcast* studio.

Starting from 2001, Stinson portrayed Barney regularly on the television show, replacing Joyner (who would also play the character in tandem with Stinson until 2005). Stinson continued to portray as the purple dinosaur until the show's hiatus and made his last performance as Barney on June 8, 2013 at CPTV's 50th anniversary special, the year of Barney's 25th Anniversary. Stinson reprised his role as Barney at Jerry Franklin's Retirement Gala on May 1, 2019.^[5]

Post-Barney[]

Podcasts[]

In March 2019, Stinson created and co-hosted Purple Tales Podcast, a podcast about the behind the scenes work and people involved with Barney & Friends. On December 6th of the same year, Stinson premiered "Purple Roads," a successor to "Purple Tales" focused on children's entertainment in general rather than just the Barney franchise.

Personal Life[]

Barney[]

In some of the Purple Roads Podcast episodes, which is the successor to Purple Tales Podcast, it is revealed that after Barney & Friends ended, he actually kept the model train engine from "Ready, Set, Go!", and "All Aboard!" along with the Red caboose, and the silver and red train from Waiting for Santa, and on display in a small library in the caboose. He also kept the Blue engine from "The Little Engine that Could", along with a model of the Western & Atlantic 3 from "Colors All Around".

Credits[]

Barney[]

Barney the Dinosaur[]

The Barney Spot at JCPenney (1992)
Riding In Barney's Car (Cover)
Barney News: Barney Goes Hollywood! (Photoshoot)
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1999, 2002-2004)
PBS Kids Sprout Launch (2005)
We Are Family: A Musical Message for All Commercial (2005)
ABC News (2007)
Dino-Mite Valentine's Sing-Along (2010)
25 Million Hugs Campaign (2013)
CPTV's 50th Anniversary Celebration (2013)
The Jerry Franklin CPTV Gala (2019)

Trivia[]

In addition to performing as Barney, Stinson made cameo appearances in the season eight episode, "Play Piano With Me!", and the video The Land of Make Believe. In the latter, Stinson portrayed Mr. Barnes, a playful nod to his role as Barney.
Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, and Hayden Tweedie who portrayed Gianna, Angela, and Sarah respectively had a crush on Stinson, who was Barney's costume performer during their time on Barney & Friends.^[7]^[8]
Stinson's brother Casey Stinson was an audio assistant and did post production audio for Barney & Friends.
Stinson's parents appeared as extras in an episode of Barney & Friends.

References[]

[1] Meet Carey Stinson

[:0-2] Carey "Barney" Stinson welcomes Jeff “Baby Bop” Ayers - Purple Tales Podcast Episode 1

[3] Barney and Gang: a Look at the Past 30-Plus Years of the Friendly Purple Dinosaur

[4] Why Young Children Scream

[5] “Barney” Stinson takes his turn in the guest chair - Purple Tales Episode 11

[6] Purple Roads Episode Seven | Phyllis Cicero

[:02-7] Selena Gomez Forgets Her Own Lyrics to Zedd & Demi Lovato Collabs, But Not Barney

[8] Now an actress in Hollywood, it's Hayden "Sarah" Tweedie - Purple Tales Podcast Episode #22

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Carey Stinson

Contents

Career[]

Barney []

Barney & The Backyard Gang[]

Barney & Friends[]

Post-Barney[]

Podcasts[]

Personal Life[]

Barney[]

Credits[]

Barney[]

Barney the Dinosaur[]

Trivia[]

References[]

Fan Feed