Rickey Lynn Carter (born November 9, 1981 in Shreveport, Louisiana) is an American rapper and former child actor. Later, he moved to North Dallas, Texas with his mother. At a young age, Carter was an actor on the children's television series Barney & Friends and the preceding Barney & The Backyard Gang videos portraying as "Derek".
Carter retired from acting in 1995.[1] As a teen, he sold drugs and he became a father to a daughter when he was seventeen-years-old. Carter is currently a rapper under the name Gifted Tha Go-Gitta.
Career[]
Barney[]
Barney & The Backyard Gang[]
Audition[]
Carter's mother informed him that he was going to audition for Barney & The Backyard Gang. Prior to his audition, he had never heard of the show and of the main character. Carter auditioned and got a callback. For his callback, he sung "Starlight, Star Bright". Carter debuted as "Derek" in the video Waiting for Santa.
Barney & Friends[]
After Barney & the Backyard Gang ended, the video series was spun into a television series titled Barney & Friends. Carter continued to portray as "Derek" for the first two seasons of Barney & Friends and a guest appearance in the third season.
Post-Barney[]
Following his time on Barney & Friends, Carter would get recognized in public for his role as "Derek".[2] Carter returned to the set of Barney & Friends in Las Colinas in Irving, Texas with a few cast members from the first three seasons for a mini reunion.
For Carter today, Barney means "positive inspiration to people".
Gallery[]
Barney[]
Behind the scenes[]
Trivia[]
- David Joyner, who was one of Barney's costume performers, was Carter's acting coach prior to becoming Barney's costume performer.[1]
- Carter recounted a bit of his personal life during his appearance in the documentary I Love You, You Hate Me.
- In addition to Barney, Carter appeared in a Carl's Jr commercial in 1990.[3]
Videos[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Rickey L. Carter Retrieved August 12, 2022.
- ↑ Barney and Gang: a Look at the Past 30-Plus Years of the Friendly Purple Dinosaur April 10, 2018 Retrieved August 12, 2022.
- ↑ Carl's Jr Commercial (1990) June 12, 2022 Retrieved July 23, 2023.