They all laughed hard, and my dad beamed. “Dwayne who?” “Dwayne the bathtub, I’m dwowning!” A few of the cast members were hanging out in the tour bus so they could relax the night before the show, and asked if I would tell a joke. When we got to the concert venue, I was allowed to go on the tour bus and meet everyone. My only memory of the concert was when we flew to see the show in Nashville, TN. My mom, my aunt, and my uncle met up with him at a few of the concert locations. She put a red pushpin where my dad was having a concert that night, and a green pushpin where he was going to be traveling the next night all across the United States. When my dad left for the year-long tour, my mom used sticky putty to hold a large map of the United States above my bed. I saw and experienced the early 90’s success of Barney framed by my own small narrative. Looking back on this part of my life, personal framing is inevitable. All the eyes were glittering during story-time, our faces painted professionally with butterflies and other classic face painting stencils. It was fantastical and immersive to bring her into our home. For one of my sister’s birthday parties, “Mother Goose” came and told stories to all of the party goers. Quite literally.Īs I look back, I can remember the pieces of that experience with the intense joys I felt, and also the pain of missing my dad for a year.Īfter the tour, there were a few remnants of the experience. I discovered the truth when I noticed a zipper on the back of the costume.Īfter that, I was aware when I was on the set that this was a world staged. A whole world that involved Barney was cultivated in my home, and my parents for a while did not tell me that Barney was not real. I knew Barney loved me personally, so feeling small did not last as I clung to the fabric leg.Īll of the clothes that I wore as a kid were old hand-me-downs that were purchased from the show, clothes that no longer fit the cast members. The anxiety and fear would slowly begin to fade when I would get calls on every birthday from Barney singing me a hybrid of the Barney “I Love You” song and “Happy Birthday.” My fingers are in my mouth, something I did when I was very uncomfortable. In the Polaroid picture my mom showed me, I am probably five, nervously shying away from the dinosaur in the large costume. I remember meeting Barney the Dinosaur in costume at a staff Christmas party one year, and feeling hopelessly small and a bit anxious. We had multiple copies of the Barney stuffed figurines, and they were all sitting on my shelves next to my books. There are pictures of him meeting famous celebrities like Jon Bon Jovi, who shocked dad by asking for his autograph to give to his kids. Barney’s Colorful World was also featured on shows that used to be very popular and frequently watched but are now outdated such as The Rosie O’Donnell Show and Regis and Kathy Lee. The cast and crew rode in a tour bus from city to city performing the show in all of the major cities in America. He watched Barney’s motions on a screen, and fit his voice to match the action. He was one of many voice actors for the show as well as the tour, and spoke into a metal microphone in a soundproof room. When I was about seven years old, my dad traveled the country as an entertainer touring with the production of “Barney’s Colorful World” tour because he was the voice of Barney the Dinosaur.
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