Who played barney the dinosaurs
‘Barney’ doc details dark side of once-beloved dinosaur, how actor David Joyner became a tantric sex healer
"Barney & Friends" wasn’t always "one big happy family."
The ‘90s children’s show about a jolly purple T. Rex became a catalyst for hate, sparking numerous conspiracy theories that still linger today. It’s now the subject of a docuseries on Peacock that premiered Wednesday titled "I Love You, You Hate Me," which explores how a TV phenomenon ended up receiving negative criticism nationwide — to the point that it became a cultural punching bag for furious adults.
The hit PBS series, created by Sheryl Leach, Kathy Parker and Dennis DeShazer, aired from 1992 until 2010. It was a top-ranking program for children under age 6.
"There’s not one main reason some people hated Barney," director Tommy Avallone told Fox News Digital. "You know, there were different pockets. When we… talked to the creator of the ‘I Hate Barney Secret Society’… he [spoke] about his daughter loving Barney so much. And when he would come home from work, and he expected this big hug from his daughter… she was just watching Barney. And as the interviews go on, you’re like, ‘Oh, I actually see where the hate comes from. It’s jealousy. It’s this, it’s that.' It’s different for each person. We have a big whiteboard in our office that just had all these different [reasons] of why someone could possibly hate Barney."
‘BARNEY’ DOCUSERIES DETAILS DARK SIDE OF BELOVED KIDS’ SHOW, INCLUDES DEATH THREATS, DRUG RUMORS
Barney, the purple dinosaur, was the star of the PBS TV series "Barney and Friends."(Mark Perlstein/Getty Images)
"Barney & Friends," which started on video, was the brainchild of two Dallas-area educators and mothers. It quickly became a hit on public television. At one point, it starred future Disney stars Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez. In 1998, the feature film "Barney’s Great Adventure" was released. But as its popularity grew, so did the rise of public disdain.
And ‘Barney’ Music Director Got Death Threats Over Insufferable Songs See full article at Cracked ‘I Love You, You Hate Me’ Review: Peacock’s Unpersuasive Barney Documentary See full article at The Hollywood Reporter American actor (born 1963) David Joyner David Eugene Joyner Decatur, Illinois, U.S. David Eugene Joyner (born July 4, 1963) is an American actor and therapist. He is best known for physically portraying Barney from 1991 to 2001 on the children's television series Barney & Friends and its predecessor Barney & the Backyard Gang.Bob West, Duncan Brannan, and Tim Dever voiced the character. Later on, Joyner played the title character of Hip Hop Harry. Joyner was born July 4, 1963, in Decatur, Illinois, to Roscoe and Mary Joyner. He attended MacArthur High School and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronic engineering technology from the ITT Technical Institute in Indianapolis, Indiana. He worked as a software analyst for Texas Instruments for six years. Joyner once stated that he had a dream the night before he auditioned to play the role of Barney. In the dream, Barney passed out and Joyner had to give him mouth to mouth resuscitation. And on the day of the audition, Joyner stopped at a red light and noticed a billboard above him for Southwest Airlines. It said "breathe life into your vacation." Joyner decided that "if I could breathe life into this character, I was going on vacation." Joyner originally auditioned for the role in 1991, replacing Barney's original costume actor, David Voss. Joyner was originally cast as the back-up performer, but took over the role after the actress originally chosen had difficulty staying in the costume for long periods of time. Joyner was originally cast to play Barney in two Barney & the Backyard Gang home videos, but continued to play Barney in the TV series Barney & Frien American children's television series 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 anthropomorphicTyrannosaurus 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 aired on Cartoon Network's Cartoonito on October 18, 2024, and streamed on Max on October 14, 2024. While popular with its intended audience, Barney & Friends drew severe negative reaction from the older set, who mocked the title character in popular culture through song parodies and comedy routines such as being beaten up by NBA star Charles Barkley on a Saturday Night Live episode. Barney & Friends was created by Sheryl Leach of Dallas, Texas. She came up with the idea of a children's program after noticing that her son outgrew Wee Sing Together, and then recognizing that there were no videos to appeal to her son. Leach then brought together a team who created a series of home videos, Barney & the Backyard Gang, initially released in 1988. The first three videos starred actress Sandy Duncan. One day in 1991, the daughter of Connecticut Public Television executive Larry Rifkin rented one of the videos and was "mesm
Generations of parents and their grandparents run screaming from the room when the sickly sweet strains of Barney’s “I Love You, You Love Me” ooze out of televisions and iPads. But kids hate it just as much — ask any child what they think about that song and listen to them bust out a renegade version.
It’s one thing to disparage the purple dinosaur but some viewers took it to another level. “There were certain things, certain messages that people would send that were pretty threatening,” says Bob West, the original voice of Barney, on the Generation Barney podcast, as reported by People.
Some of those menacing messages came from unexpected places. “If you get a death threat from a middle school child who sends you an email, then it doesn...
In the second hour (or “episode”) of Peacock’s I Love You, You Hate Me, a former neo-Nazi turned anti-hate activist goes for a rather big thematic swing, connecting her personal journey with the slings and arrows directed at one particularly kid-friendly purple dinosaur.
“Obviously, I’m not saying that people who hate a children’s television character are in any way the same thing as someone who embraced the things that I embraced. However the dynamics of basing your identity around what you hate and what you despise, that those dynamics are exactly the same,” she posits.
It’s a contestable but also provocative point made in contradictory and ultimately under-defended terms, and that means that it’s probably a perfect encapsulation of Tommy Avallone’s documentary.
I Love You, You Hate Medoesn’t want to be simply a hollow celebration of ’90s nostalgia,...David Joyner (actor)
Born
(1963-07-04) July 4, 1963 (age 61)Occupation(s) Actor
therapistYears active 1991–present Early life
Career
Barney & Friends
History and development