Bob West

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Bob West
West at GalaxyCon 2019
Born
Robert Matthew West

(1956-06-25) June 25, 1956 (age 67)
Occupations
  • Voice actor
  • graphic designer
Years active1979–present
Websitebobwest.com

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.[2]

Career[edit]

1979–1988: Early voice work career[edit]

After 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 the Chuck E. Cheese's animatronic stage show, he voiced the characters for ten years until 1998.[1][3][4]

1988–2000: Barney the Dinosaur[edit]

West became the voice of Barney in 1988, his first voice work as Barney was for the direct-to-video pilot series Barney and the Backyard Gang. He went on and continued voicing Barney in the television series Barney & Friends and would reprise the role again in a 70 market radio show, on Multi-Platinum and Multi-Gold albums, Barney's Great Adventure (1998), for CBS and NBC primetime specials, for touring performances, as a Daytime Emmy presenter, for toys, for educational games, and for "personal appearances". He also voiced interviews on The Today Show, LIVE! with Regis & Kathie Lee, Oprah, The Phil Donahue Show, John & Leeza From Hollywood, Marilu, and appearances around the world.[3]

2000–2022: Retirement and reunion with Barney[edit]

In 2001, he retired from voicing Barney and was replaced by Tim Dever and Dean Wendt, citing that he wanted "new challenges" with his life.[5] He was temporarily replaced from Barney by two voice actor replacements David Franks, Duncan Brannan, who met him through their affiliation with Chuck E. Cheese’s. Carey Stinson replaced David Joyner as the character's body performer. However, West's pre-recorded 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 due to his retirement. Some other archival recordings of his voice are still heard in some of HIT Entertainment's The Little Big Club live stage shows until October 12, 2022.

West appeared in the Peacock documentary sequel series I Love You, You Hate Me.[6][7]

2022–present: Graphic designing and later career[edit]

West also provided voices for TV and radio ads for Pepsi, Bud Light (English and Spanish), Coors Light, Frito-Lay, KFC, Armour Meats, Circuit City, Texas Monthly Magazine, and Texas Lottery.[3]

West has also worked as a creative director, writer, producer and director in various radio and television commercials.[1]

West now works as a graphic designer for film and television.[8][1]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1998 Barney's Great Adventure Barney (voice) [9]

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1988–1991 Barney and the Backyard Gang Barney (voice) Pilot series[9]
1992–2000 Barney & Friends [9]
1993 The Today Show
2022 I Love You, You Hate Me Barney
Himself
Sequel & docuseries

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 [10]
Barney Goes to the Circus
Barney's Fun on Imagination Island

Other work[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1986–1994, 1995-1998 Chuck E. Cheese's Jasper T. Jowls (1986-1994, 1996-1998), Mr. Munch (1995-1996), Pasqually P. Pieplate (1986-1994, 1995-1998) Animatronic stage show[1]
1995–2021 A Day in the Park with Barney Barney (archive recordings) Theme park attraction

Commercials and ads[edit]

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 Film
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]

  1. ^ A clip from a videocassette copy of Barney's Musical Castle (with The Wiggles sometimes) is shown on a television set.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "What About Bob?".
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b c "C h a r a c t e r c h a m e l e o n : 20 years of voice over by Bob West : Resumé". www.bobwest.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  4. ^ "Bob West". Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  5. ^ "CelebWorx Live Episode #12 With Bob West (The Original Voice of Barney the Dinosaur)". YouTube. YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  6. ^ Petski, Denise (November 15, 2021). "Barney The Dinosaur Documentary From 'Queer Eye' Producers Greenlighted At Peacock". Deadline Hollywood.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ "Alumni Profile: Bob West '78". Archived from the original on September 27, 2019.
  9. ^ a b c d "Bob West – 9 Character Images". Behind The Voice Actors.
  10. ^ "Barney Under the Sea (1998) Windows credits". MobyGames. Retrieved January 21, 2023.

External links[edit]