Robert Matthew West (born June 25, 1956) is an American voice actor and graphic designer.[1] 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".[2]
Bob West | |
|---|---|
 West at GalaxyCon 2019 | |
| Born | Robert Matthew West June 25, 1956 |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Website | bobwest |
Career
edit1979–1988: Early voice work career
editAfter graduating from Trinity University in San Antonio with an art degree, West began his voice acting career in 1979.[1]
In 1986, he was cast as the voices of Jasper T. Jowls and Pasqually in Chuck E. Cheese's animatronic stage show. He voiced the characters for ten years, until 1998.[1][3][4]
1988–2001: Barney
editWest became the voice of Barney the Dinosaur in 1988. His first voice work as Barney was for the direct-to-video pilot series Barney & the Backyard Gang. He continued voicing Barney in the television series Barney & Friends and the 1998 film Barney's Great Adventure, as well as live performances, toys, and music. In addition, West voiced Barney for appearances on radio shows, CBS and NBC primetime specials, the Daytime Emmy Awards, and several talk shows, such as The Today Show, Live with Regis & Kathie Lee, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Phil Donahue Show, John & Leeza from Hollywood, Marilu, and appearances around the world.[3]
In 2001, he retired from voicing Barney after 13 years, saying that he wanted "new challenges" in his life.[5] He was temporarily replaced by David Franks and Duncan Brannan, who met him through their affiliation with Chuck E. Cheese,[citation needed] then by Tim Dever (father of Kaitlyn Dever) and Dean Wendt.
However, West's voice could still be heard in A Day in the Park with Barney at Universal Studios Florida until the attraction's closure in February 2021, as it was recorded in the mid-1990s. Archival recordings of West as Barney were also used in some of HIT Entertainment's The Little Big Club live stage shows until October 12, 2022.[citation needed]
2001–present: Later career and graphic design
editWest provided voices for TV and radio ads for Pepsi, Bud Light (in both English and Spanish), Coors Light, Frito-Lay, KFC, Armour Meats, Circuit City, Texas Monthly Magazine, and Texas Lottery.[3] He also worked as a creative director, writer, producer and director in various radio and television commercials.[1]
In 2022, West appeared in I Love You, You Hate Me, a Peacock documentary miniseries about the negative reactions to Barney.[6][7]
West now works as a graphic designer for film and television.[8][1]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Barney's Great Adventure | Barney (voice) | [9] |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988–1991 | Barney & the Backyard Gang | Barney (voice) | 8 episodes Video series[9] |
| 1992–2000 | Barney & Friends | 128 episodes[10] | |
| 2022 | I Love You, You Hate Me |
|
2 episodes Documentary miniseries |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Barney's Hide & Seek Game | Barney | [9] |
| 1997 | Fun on the Farm with Barney | ||
| Barney Under the Sea | [11] | ||
| Barney Goes to the Circus | |||
| Barney's Fun on Imagination Island |
Other work
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986–1998 | Chuck E. Cheese |
|
Animatronic stage show[1] |
| 1995–2021 | A Day in the Park with Barney | Barney | Theme park attraction; archive recordings |
Commercials and ads
edit- Pepsi
- Bud Light (English and Spanish)
- Coors Light
- Frito-Lay
- KFC
- Armour Meats
- Circuit City
- Texas Monthly Magazine
- Texas Lottery
Production credits
edit| Year | Title | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Still Breathing | Art director | Film |
| 1999 | Thick as Thieves | Graphic designer | Uncredited |
| 2000 | Picking Up the Pieces | ||
| Thirteen Days | |||
| 2001 | Jurassic Park III | Uncredited[a] | |
| 2003 | Down with Love | Uncredited | |
| The Italian Job | |||
| 2004 | Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy | ||
| 2005 | Be Cool | ||
| Herbie Fully Loaded | |||
| House of the Dead 2 | |||
| 2006 | 10 Items or Less | ||
| Schools for Scoundrels | |||
| 2007 | October Road | Episode: "Pilot"; uncredited | |
| Hustle | 2 episodes; uncredited | ||
| 2009 | Black Dynamite | Uncredited | |
| The Proposal | |||
| 2009–2015 | Community | 34 episodes | |
| 2011 | Hop | Uncredited | |
| 2012 | 90210 | 2 episodes; uncredited | |
| 2013 | Anatomy of Violence | Uncredited | |
| 2014 | Chef | ||
| 2014–2015 | Castle | 4 episodes | |
| 2015–2016 | The Muppets | 8 episodes | |
| 2016 | The Sweet Life | Film | |
| Aztec Warrior | |||
| 2016–2019 | Speechless | 62 episodes | |
| 2017 | Wish Upon | Film | |
| Raised by Wolves | TV movie | ||
| 2017–2018 | The Mick | 20 episodes | |
| 2018 | Three Rivers | TV movie | |
| 2018–2020 | Single Parents | 18 episodes | |
| 2020 | 9-1-1: Lone Star | Episode: "Yee-Haw" | |
| 2021 | The Rookie | 5 episodes | |
| 2022 | Swimming with Sharks | 6 episodes | |
| Love, Victor | Graphic artist | Episode: "You Up?" |
Note
edit- ^ A clip from a videocassette copy of Barney's Musical Castle (with The Wiggles sometimes) is shown on a television set.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f "What About Bob?".
- ^ Petit, Stephanie (June 8, 2017). "Barney Unmasked! Meet the Man Who 'Loved' Playing the Iconic Purple Dinosaur for a Decade". People. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ^ a b c West, Bob. "Resumé". Archived from the original on August 27, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
- ^ "Bob West". Voice Chasers. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
- ^ "CelebWorx Live Episode #12 With Bob West (The Original Voice of Barney the Dinosaur)". Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2020 – via YouTube.
- ^ Petski, Denise (November 15, 2021). "Barney The Dinosaur Documentary From 'Queer Eye' Producers Greenlighted At Peacock". Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ "Peacock Launches First-Ever Virtual "DocFest" with Original Documentaries to Premiere Weekly" (Press release). Peacock. August 26, 2022. Retrieved August 26, 2022 – via The Futon Critic.
- ^ "Alumni Profile: Bob West '78". Archived from the original on September 27, 2019.
- ^ a b c "Bob West". Behind the Voice Actors.
- ^ "Barney & Friends (TV Series 1992–2010)". IMDb.
- ^ "Barney Under the Sea (1998) Windows credits". MobyGames. Retrieved January 21, 2023.