Robert Matthew West (born June 25, 1956) is an American voice actor and graphic designer. He is best known as the original voice of Barney in the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

children's television series ''

Barney & Friends ''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series created by Sheryl Leach targeted at children ages two to five. The flagship production of the ''Barney'' franchise, it originally aired on PBS under the PBS Kids brand from Ap ...

'', and its preceding home video series '' Barney & the Backyard Gang''.

Career

1979–1988: Early voice work career

After graduating from Trinity University in San Antonio with an art degree, West began his voice acting career in 1979. 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. West has also done voice work for various television commercials and ads.

1988–2001: ''Barney''

West 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 ''

'' and the 1998 film ''

Barney's Great Adventure ''Barney's Great Adventure'' (also known by its promotional title ''Barney's Great Adventure: The Movie'') is a 1998 musical comedy adventure film based on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'', featuring Barney the Dinosaur in h ...

'', 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 The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

, and several talk shows, such as ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

'', '' Live with Regis & Kathie Lee'', ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

'', ''

The Phil Donahue Show ''The Phil Donahue Show'' is an American talk show that was hosted by Phil Donahue. The show ran for twenty-nine seasons from November 6, 1967, to September 13, 1996, in which it broadcast 6,715 episodes. Before it was placed in syndication ...

'', '' John & Leeza from Hollywood'', '' Marilu'', and appearances around the world. In 2001, he retired from voicing Barney after 13 years, saying that he wanted "new challenges" in his life. He was temporarily replaced by David Franks and Duncan Brannan, who met him through their affiliation with Chuck E. Cheese, then by Tim Dever (father of

Kaitlyn Dever Kaitlyn Rochelle Dever (; born December 21, 1996) is an American actress, singer, musician, and songwriter. She is best known for her roles in the television series ''Justified (TV series), Justified'' (2011–2015), ''Last Man Standing (America ...

) and

Dean Wendt Dean Wendt is an American voice actor, host and music DJ, best known as the second voice of Barney (Barney & Friends character), Barney on the hit children's show ''Barney & Friends'' following the departure of the character's original voice actor ...

. However, West's voice could still be heard in ''

A Day in the Park with Barney ''A Day in the Park with Barney'' was a live children's show at Universal Studios Florida based on the children's television show, ''Barney & Friends'', that opened in 1995 on the former site of ''The Bates Motel Set'' used in '' Psycho IV: T ...

'' at

Universal Studios Florida Universal Studios Florida is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida, that opened on June 7, 1990. Owned and operated by NBCUniversal, it features numerous rides, attractions, and live shows that are primarily themed to movies, television, and ...

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 HIT Entertainment Limited (stylised as HiT) was a British-American entertainment company founded in 1982 as Henson International Television, the international distribution arm of The Jim Henson Company, by Jim Henson, Peter Orton, and Sophie Turn ...

's ''The Little Big Club'' live stage shows until October 12, 2022.

2001–present: Later career and graphic design

West provided voices for TV and radio ads for

Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...

Bud Light Anheuser-Busch, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, is the largest brewing company in the United States, with a market share of 45 percent in 2016. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and nearly 20 in oth ...

(in both English and Spanish),

Coors Light Coors Light is a 4.2% ABV light American lager beer sold by Coors (currently Molson Coors) of Chicago, Illinois. It was first produced in 1978 by the Coors Brewing Company. They had briefly produced a different low-alcohol beer by the same n ...

Frito-Lay Frito-Lay, Inc. (; ) is an American food company that manufactures, markets, and sells snack foods. It began in the early 1930s as two companies, Fritos, the Frito Company and Lay's, H.W. Lay & Company, that merged in 1961. Frito-Lay itself merg ...

KFC KFC Corporation, doing business as KFC (an abbreviation of Kentucky Fried Chicken), is an American fast food restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken and chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's se ...

, Armour Meats,

Circuit City Circuit City Corporation, Inc., formerly Circuit City Stores, Inc., is an American consumer electronics retail company, which was founded in 1949 by Samuel Wurtzel as the Wards Company, operated stores across the United States, and pioneered th ...

, Texas Monthly Magazine, and

Texas Lottery The Texas Lottery is the government-operated lottery available throughout Texas. It is operated by the Texas Lottery Commission, headquartered in Downtown Austin, downtown Austin, Texas. The lottery and its operator, International Game Techno ...

. He also worked as a creative director, writer, producer and director in various radio and television commercials. In 2022, West appeared in '' I Love You, You Hate Me'', a

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

documentary miniseries about the negative reactions to Barney. West now works as a graphic designer for film and television.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Other work

Commercials and ads

Production credits

Note

References

External links

Official website

Bob West website on Archive.org
* {{DEFAULTSORT:West, Bob 1956 births Living people American male voice actors American male singers Male actors from Pennsylvania People from Washington County, Pennsylvania Trinity University (Texas) alumni 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors