Facts about Barney the Dinosaur
Barney the Dinosaur Biography
A six-foot chubby purple dinosaur, Barney was the star of the long-running children’s TV show Barney and Friends.
Barney the dinosaur got his start in 1987 in direct-sale videos created by Dallas teacher Sheryl Leach. The tapes caught the eye of the Public Broadcasting System, who put Barney and Friends on the air in 1992. The big purple dinosaur quickly became a public phenomenon, joining Mister Rogers and Jim Henson‘s Muppets as PBS stars.
Barney was a cuddly, friendly Tyrannosaurus Rex; he often was joined by his chums Baby Bop (a baby Triceratops) and her brother B.J. (a Protoceratops).
Barney and Friends ran in various incarnations on PBS from 1992-2009, and today lives on as a digital icon. He also starred in a 1997 feature film, Barney’s Great Adventure.
Extra credit
One of the kids on Barney in 2006 was Debbie Ryan, who went on to play Bailey Pickett on the Disney Channel show The Suite Life on Deck (2008-11). Future acting and singing stars Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez both appeared on the show as well, in seasons 7 and 8.