Barney & Friends is an American children’s television series aimed at children aged 1 to 8, created by Sheryl Leach and produced by HIT Entertainment. It premiered on PBS on April 6, 1992. The series features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomorphic Tyrannosaurus rex who conveys educational messages
Whether you view him as a cuddly token of your childhood youth or an unsettling 6ft purple dinosaur, you’re bound to have seen him grace TV screens over the years. From his cutesy songs and adorable dino friends, Barney has made quite the impact on children’s television since he first appeared.
Barney was first created in 1987 by Sheryl Leach, who was looking for a way to entertain her then 2 year old son, Patrick. Originally, Barney was going to be a blanket.
Oh boy, Oh boy! Remember, I love you! Barney is a purple dinosaur and the main protagonist of the television series Barney & Friends, and its home video predecessor Barney & The Backyard Gang.
How old is Barney the Dinosaur?
The character of Barney was created by Sheryl Leach in 1987, which would mean Barney is currently 32-years-old. Now that will make you feel old!
As for Barney the Dinosaur, we can’t give a birthdate as, well, he is a fictional dinosaur. Sheryl may have his birthday stored as a mental note, but that kind of information isn’t in the public domain.
Where is Barney from?
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).
A two hundred million year (two dinosaur years) old, six-foot (sometimes seven-foot) tall purple tyrannosaurus rex with a green belly and green spots on his back and his tail …
Although he celebrates his birthday in the Barney franchise, he remains over 200 million years old.
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.
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, but was later shaved down to fifty pounds with the final costume. Inside the costume could get up to over 120 degrees.
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Barney was first created in 1987 by Sheryl Leach, who was looking for a way to entertain her then two year old son, Patrick. 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.
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.
