Barney & Friends is an American children's television series targeted at children aged 2–5, created by Sheryl Leach. The series first aired on PBS on April 6, 1992, and features Barney, a purple anthropomorphic Tyrannosaurus rex who conveys educational messages through songs and small dance routines with a friendly, huggable and optimistic attitude. The series ended on November 2, 2010, although new videos were still released on various dates after the last episode aired. Reruns aired on Sprout from 2005 to 2015, and from December 17, 2018 to January 25, 2020 on Sprout's successor network, Universal Kids. On October 6, 2015, the series was initially renewed for revival with a new season to premiere in 2017, but that season was cancelled. A CGI-animated series will air on Cartoon Network's Cartoonito and stream on Max.
Sandra Kay Duncan is an American actress, comedian, dancer and singer. She is known for her performances in the Broadway revival of Peter Pan, the sitcom The Hogan Family, and the Disney films The Million Dollar Duck and The Cat from Outer Space. Duncan has been nominated for three Tony Awards, two Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.
The USA Cartoon Express was a programming block consisting of animated children's series which aired on the USA Network from September 20, 1982 to September 15, 1996. Cartoon Express was the first structured animation block on cable television, predating Nickelodeon's Nicktoons and Cartoon Network by a decade.
George Edward Smith is an American guitarist. Smith was the lead guitarist for the duo Hall & Oates during the band's heyday from 1979 to 1985, playing on several albums and five number one singles. When Hall & Oates took a hiatus in 1985, Smith joined the sketch-comedy show Saturday Night Live, serving as bandleader and co-musical director of the Saturday Night Live Band.
Barney in Concert is a Barney & the Backyard Gang stage show, which released on video on July 29, 1991, in the United States and France. It also features the TV show Barney & Friends.
Allsorts is a British educational comedy series for children that was produced for ITV by Granada Television. The programmes aired from 7 January 1987 to 19 December 1995 and covered a range of children's learning activities.
Lewis Michael Arquette was an American actor. He was best known for playing J. D. Pickett on the television series The Waltons, on which he worked from 1978 to 1981.
Casper's First Christmas is a 1979 animated Christmas television special and crossover produced by Hanna-Barbera. It features Casper the Friendly Ghost and his friend Hairy Scarey from the animated series Casper and the Angels. The special features guest stars Yogi Bear, Boo-Boo, Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss, Quick Draw McGraw, and Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy. It aired on NBC on December 18, 1979.
Wee Sing is a songbook series published by Price Stern Sloan. It would also inspire a series of children's CDs, cassettes, coloring books, toys, videos, and apps.
Waiting for Santa is a direct-to-video Christmas Eve special. Released on video on April 30, 1990 as part of the Barney & the Backyard Gang series, it features an array of traditional Christmas songs as well as new arrangements. The video had sold almost five million copies by 1999.
A Day in the Park with Barney was a live children's show at Universal Studios Florida based on the children's television show, Barney & Friends, that opened in 1995 on the former site of The Bates Motel Set used in Psycho IV: The Beginning. It also had a "Barney's Backyard" playground area with a chance to meet Barney in a meet and greet session after the main show in the Barney Theater. It was one of the few places where Barney's original voice actor Bob West was heard and one of Universal Studios' attempts to appeal to the younger generation.
Neil Martin Taylor is an English guitarist, best known for his long-time affiliation with Robbie Williams and for his work with Tears for Fears.
Barney's Big Surprise was Barney the Dinosaur's first national tour. The show started in 1996 and played in 60 cities, with a program of 28 old and new Barney songs. Originally planned for theaters, it was revised to become more like a rock concert for young children; most of the venues were small arenas with around 5,000 seats, with some larger arenas used as well. A video of the show, which had been taped at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, was released in 1998.
"Three Little Fishies", also known as "Three Little Fishes", is a 1939 song with words by Josephine Carringer and Bernice Idins and music by Saxie Dowell. The song tells the story of three fishes, who defy their mother's command of swimming only in a meadow, by swimming over a dam and on out to sea, where they encounter a shark, which the fish describe as a whale. They flee for their lives and return to the meadow in safety.
Kathryn "Kathy" O'Rourke Parker is a children's educational television producer and writer, best known for being co-creator of the popular children's show Barney & Friends with Sheryl Leach and Dennis DeShazer. Kathy received her B.S. in Special Education in 1976 and an M.A. in Learning Disabilities in 1979, both from Eastern Michigan University. She taught in the field of special education in Michigan from 1976 to 1981, before moving to the state of Texas. From 1981 to 1987 she worked at DLM, Inc. of Allen, Texas marketing early childhood educational products and materials. Then, in 1987, personal friends Parker and Leach began working together on the idea that would become Barney & Friends.
David Eugene Joyner is an American actor. He is best known for physically portraying Barney from 1991 to 2001, and 2022 to present on the 2-part adult docuseries I Love You, You Hate Me, the successor children's television series Barney & Friends and its predecessor Barney and the Backyard Gang. Later on, he played the title character of Hip Hop Harry.
Barney is an American media franchise targeted at children aged 2–7. Centering around the titular character Barney, a purple anthropomorphic Tyrannosaurus rex who conveys educational messages through songs and small dance routines with a friendly, huggable and optimistic attitude, the franchise consists of three series: Barney & the Backyard Gang (1988—1991), a direct-to-video series consisting of only eight episodes; Barney & Friends (1992—2010), a television series that ran on PBS Kids; and Barney's World (2024), an upcoming, fully computer-animated series to air on Cartoon Network's Cartoonito and to be streamed on Max. The franchise is currently distributed by 9 Story Media Group, under license from Mattel Television.
