Sheryl Leach | |
---|---|
Born | Sheryl Lyna Stamps December 31, 1952 Allen, Texas, U.S. |
Occupation(s) | Author, television producer, television writer |
Years active | 1987–present |
Known for | Creator of Barney & Friends [1] (1992–2010) |
Spouse | James Edmond Leach (div. 2001) Howard Rosenfeld (m.) [2] [3] |
Children | 1 |
Sheryl Lyna Stamps Leach (born December 31, 1952) is an American author and creator of the children's show Barney & Friends , along with Kathy Parker and Dennis DeShazer.
Leach holds a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Southern Methodist University (SMU) and a master's degree in bilingual education from Texas A&M University - Commerce. [4]
In the late 1980s, Sheryl Leach, along with Kathy Parker and Dennis DeShazer, came up with the concept for a children’s television show featuring a purple dinosaur named Barney. They believed that such a character could help young children learn important life lessons and skills in a fun and engaging way. Inspired by their own experiences as parents, they created the character and developed the show’s format. [5]
Leach, a former teacher, worked with Parker and DeShazer on what would become the TV show in 1987. Originally, the star of the show was envisioned as a teddy bear, but since her toddler son sparked an interest in dinosaurs, the character was changed to a dinosaur. Leach and her team created a series of home videos called Barney and the Backyard Gang . The videos were sold directly to the public. [6] In 1991, after Connecticut Public Television employee Larry Rifkin rented a Barney video for his daughter, he spoke with the creators about putting Barney on television. [7] In October of that year, production began on the new TV show, titled Barney & Friends , and in April 1992, it premiered on PBS. Barney went onto receive a number of awards and honors. [8]
Leach’s initial marriage was to a man whose identity is undisclosed. Her second husband was James Edmond Leach before divorcing in 2001. Her third marriage was Howard Rosenfeld. She has a son named Patrick. In 2013, Patrick shot his 49-year-old neighbor in the chest with a .45 caliber handgun in Florida. He was arrested and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. [9]
Sheryl Leach’s contributions to children’s programming have garnered her numerous awards. Among other awards, Leach was nominated for the 20th and 23rd Annual [10] She holds an honorary doctorate from Texas A&M University–Commerce. [11]
Leach and her life partner Howard Rosenfeld have sponsored projects through their philanthropy organization the Shei'rah Foundation, including a number of documentaries [12] and several youth-based media projects. [13]
In 2007, Leach and Rosenfeld designed and built The Smithy, a specialty retail outlet in the village of New Preston in Litchfield County Connecticut, that sells local artisanal foods and handicrafts. [14]
Leach and Rosenfeld are also involved with community development, land conservation projects, and farming organizations in Litchfield County. They own and support two organic farms and were credited by Litchfield Magazine as one of the initiators of the "farm to table" movement in the area. [15] They also co-founded the Farmer's Table Dinner program in 2011 in couldn't with Partners for Sustainable Healthy Communities. [16]
The Flintstones is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the Rubbles. It was originally broadcast on ABC from September 30, 1960, to April 1, 1966, and was the first animated series with a prime-time slot on television.
The Flintstones is a 1994 American family comedy film directed by Brian Levant and written by Tom S. Parker, Jim Jennewein, and Steven E. de Souza based on the 1960–1966 animated television series of the same name by Hanna-Barbera. The film stars John Goodman as Fred Flintstone, Rick Moranis as Barney Rubble, Elizabeth Perkins as Wilma Flintstone, and Rosie O'Donnell as Betty Rubble, along with Kyle MacLachlan as Cliff Vandercave, a villainous executive-vice president of Fred's company, Halle Berry as Sharon Stone, his seductive secretary, and Elizabeth Taylor as Pearl Slaghoople, Wilma's mother. The B-52's performed their version of the cartoon's theme song, playing cavemen versions of themselves as the BC-52's.
Barney & Friends is an American children's television series targeted at children aged two to five, 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 never came to fruition. A CGI-animated series will air on Cartoon Network's Cartoonito and stream on Max.
Itzik Kol was an Israeli television and film producer considered by many to be a pioneer and originator of Israeli cinema. He died following complications from pneumonia.
Kathryn Jean Whitmire is an American politician, businesswoman, and accountant best known as the first woman to serve as Mayor of Houston, serving for five consecutive two-year terms from 1982 to 1992. From 1977 to 1981, she was the city controller, a position which made her the first woman elected to any office in the city. Whitmire drew national attention when she defeated former Harris County Sheriff Jack Heard in her election as mayor. The election drew national focus because it symbolized a major political realignment in the fourth-largest city in the United States.
Anti-Barney humor is a form of humor that targets Barney the Dinosaur, the main character from the children's television series Barney & Friends, and singles out the show for criticism.
Robert Matthew West is an American voice actor and graphic designer. He is best known as the original voice of Barney in the PBS children's television series Barney & Friends, and its preceding home video series "Barney & the Backyard Gang".
Barney & the Backyard Gang is an American direct-to-video series produced by The Lyons Group and released in periodic installments from August 29, 1988, to September 21, 1991. The series' success led to the launch of the children's television show, Barney & Friends, which in its original run aired on PBS from April 6, 1992, to November 2, 2010.
Barney in Concert is a Barney & the Backyard Gang stage show, which was performed live in May 1991. The May 26th performance was released on video on July 29, 1991, in the United States and France. It was reissued many times worldwide until July 2000.
Barney's Great Adventure is a 1998 musical comedy adventure film based on the children's television series Barney & Friends, featuring Barney the Dinosaur in his first feature-length film. The plot follows Barney, along with three young children named Cody, Abby, and Marcella, as they discover a magical egg in a barn. After learning that the egg is a dream maker, Barney and the gang must return the egg to the barn before it hatches. The film was written by Stephen White, directed by Steve Gomer, produced by Sheryl Leach and Lyrick Studios and released by PolyGram Filmed Entertainment on March 27, 1998, at Radio City Music Hall in New York and worldwide on April 3, 1998, in the United States and Canada at the height of Barney's popularity.
The Litchfield Female Academy in Litchfield, Connecticut, founded in 1792 by Sarah Pierce, was one of the most important institutions of female education in the United States. During the 30 years after its opening the school enrolled more than 2,000 students from 17 states and territories of the new republic, as well as Canada and the West Indies. Some 1,848 students known to have attended the school have been identified through school lists, diaries and journals, correspondence, as well as art and needlework done at the school. Many more, unidentified to date, attended, especially before 1814, when formal attendance lists were first kept. The longevity of the school, the size of the enrollments, the wide geographic distribution of the student body, the development of the curriculum and the training of teachers, all distinguish it from the numerous other female academies of the Early Republic. The young women were exposed to ideas and customs from all the relatively isolated parts of the new nation, developing a more national perspective than most Americans of the period.
Sheryl is a female given name. The similar name Sherill may be male or female.
Justin F. Kimball High School is a public secondary school in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas, United States. It enrolls students in grades 9–12, and is a part of the Dallas Independent School District. The school is named in honor of Justin Ford Kimball, a prominent citizen of Dallas, Texas, former school superintendent, and founder of a predecessor of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. In 2015, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.
Lyrick Studios, formerly The Lyons Group, was an American video production and distribution company based in Allen, Texas, best known for their flagship property Barney & Friends.
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.
Joe Scruggs is an American singer-songwriter widely acclaimed for his children's and folk music output. He was also a major personality as a children's entertainer, touring schools across America and making television appearances on shows ranging from Barney & Friends to The David Letterman Show.
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 & the Backyard Gang. Later on, he played the title character of Hip Hop Harry.
Leach is a surname, originally denoting a physician. Notable people with the surname include:
Barney is an American media franchise targeted at children aged 2–6. 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), a fully computer-animated series set to air on Cartoon Network's Cartoonito, and which is currently streaming on Max. The franchise is currently distributed by 9 Story Media Group, under license from Mattel Television.