David Joyner

David Joyner was the second Barney costume actor, performing in the suit from 1991 to 2001. For three years afterwards, he would train Barney actors around the world and make personal appearances as the purple guy.

File:Joyner David.jpg

Early life

David Eugene Joyner was born on July 4th, 1963 in Decatur, Illinois to the proud parents, Roscoe and Mary Joyner. He is the 5th out 6 children. His nickname growing up was "Preacher". He graduated in 1981, with Honors, from MacArthur High School in Decatur at the age of 17.

Career

While working at Texas Instruments, David began teaching in an acting school for children in Dallas. Shirley Abrams, a local casting director, had asked David to be in "World's Most Wanted," playing a drug dealer. The criminal the character was based on was caught and, despite being picked for the role, the episode was never filmed.

On September 21, 1990, a fax comes in from Shirley Abrams asking for a performer to play Barney. David Voss, Barney's original costume actor, had left to join the military and the company was looking to film two more Barney & The Backyard Gang videos. Joyner was unsure about being in a costume, having no prior experience in the field. In a phone call, Shirley said he was perfect, as he worked well with kids and was energetic. In an interview, he says that she sent him the first six videos of the Barney series and he would fall asleep no matter how hard he tried.

File:Barney1 Big.jpg

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.

After five auditions, he was passed over for a woman. She ended up not being able to handle the kids, so Abrams called Joyner and asked if he would still be interested in playing Barney. Joyner, excited inside, calmly accepted the role.

Appearances

1. Barney in Concert
2. Rock with Barney
3. The Queen of Make-Believe
4. My Family's Just Right for Me
5. Playing It Safe
6. Hop to It!
7. Eat, Drink and Be Healthy!
8. Four Seasons Day
9. The Treasure of Rainbow Beard
10. Going Places!
11. Caring Means Sharing
12. Down on Barney's Farm
13. What's That Shadow?
14. Happy Birthday, Barney!
15. Alphabet Soup!
16. Our Earth, Our Home
17. Let's Help Mother Goose!
18. Be a Friend
19. I Just Love Bugs
20. When I Grow Up...
21. 1-2-3-4-5 Senses!
22. Practice Makes Music
23. Hi, Neighbor!
24. A Camping We Will Go!
25. A Splash Party, Please
26. Carnival of Numbers
27. A World of Music
28. Doctor Barney is Here!
29. Oh, What a Day!
30. Home Sweet Homes
31. Hola, Mexico!
32. Everyone is Special
33. Barney's Magical Musical Adventure
34. Falling for Autumn!
35. Grandparents Are Grand!
36. May I Help You?
37. Red, Blue and Circles Too!
38. Honk! Honk! A Goose on the Loose!
39. Hoo's in the Forest?
40. I Can Do That!
41. Grown-Ups for a Day!
42. Picture This!
43. Look at Me, I'm 3!
44. The Exercise Circus!
45. My Favorite Things
46. The Dentist Makes Me Smile
47. Stop, Look and Be Safe!
48. An Adventure in Make-Believe
49. The Alphabet Zoo
50. Having Tens of Fun!
51. A Very Special Delivery!
52. Love to Read, with Barney
53. Barney Live! In New York City
54. Imagination Island
55. Shawn and the Beanstalk
56. If the Shoe Fits...
57. Room for Everyone
58. I Can Be a Firefighter!
59. Shopping for a Surprise!
60. Anyway You Slice It
61. Twice Is Nice!
62. On the Move
63. A Welcome Home
64. Classical Cleanup
65. Our Furry Feathered Fishy Friends
66. Gone Fishing!
67. At Home with Animals
68. It's Raining, It's Pouring...
69. Camera Safari
70. Who's Who on the Choo Choo?
71. Are We There Yet?
72. Ship, Ahoy!
73. Hats Off to BJ!
74. Up We Go!
75. Barney Songs
76. Barney's Talent Show
77. Barney's Fun & Games
78. Barney's 1-2-3-4 Seasons
79. Once Upon a Time
80. Barney's Sense-Sational Day
81. Barney's Musical Scrapbook
82. Camp WannaRunnaRound
83. Barney's Adventure Bus
84. Barney's Good Day, Good Night
85. First Day of School
86. Is Everybody Happy?
87. Pennies, Nickels, Dimes
88. We've Got Rhythm
89. Tick Tock Clocks!
90. Waiting for Mr. MacRooney
91. Let's Build Together
92. It's Tradition
93. A Picture of Health
94. Play Ball!
95. A Different Kind of Mystery
96. Going on a Bear Hunt
97. Let's Eat
98. Barney's Great Adventure
99. Barney in Outer Space
100. My Party with Barney
101. Barney's Halloween Party
102. Books Are Fun!
103. Trading Places
104. Safety First!
105. Circle of Friends
106. The One and Only You
107. Barney's Band
108. Try It, You'll Like It!
109. Colors All Around
110. Howdy, Friends!
111. Seven Days a Week
112. Hidden Treasures
113. A Royal Welcome
114. Sweet as Honey
115. First Things First!
116. Aunt Rachel Is Here!
117. It's a Rainy Day!
118. Easy Does It!
119. What's in a Name?
120. A Very Special Mouse
121. A Package of Friendship
122. Sing and Dance with Barney
123. What a World We Share
124. Walk Around the Block with Barney
125. Let's Play School
126. Barney's Night Before Christmas
127. Stick with Imagination!
128. Itty Bitty Bugs
129. Grandparents Are Grand
130. Snack Time!
131. A Sunny, Snowy Day
132. You've Got to Have Art
133. Five Kinds of Fun!
134. Count Me In!
135. Who's Who at the Zoo?
136. Birthday Olé
137. More Barney Songs
138. Excellent Exercise!
139. Brushing Up on Teeth
140. A "Little" Mother Goose / Barney's Rhyme Time Rhythm
141. Good Job!
142. It's Home to Me
143. How Does Your Garden Grow?
144. You Can Do It!
145. Here Comes the Firetruck!
146. Ready, Set, Go!
147. You Are Special
148. Super Singing Circus
149. Come on Over to Barney's House
150. Barney's Dino Dancin' Tunes
151. Be My Valentine, Love Barney
152. Let's Go to the Zoo
153. Barney's Pajama Party
154. You Can Be Anything
155. Barney's Beach Party
156. Round and Round We Go