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Stephen White (born September 3, 1952 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American freelance writer, scriptwriter and songwriter. He is best known to be the primary writer (and brief head writer) for Barney & Friends. He only did not write many of the Barney & Friends episodes and home videos, but also Barney's Great Adventure, many books, live appearances, and even some original songs for the franchise.

Stephen White with Barney the Dinosaur

Stephen White next to Barney the Dinosaur.

Career[]

Barney & Friends[]

Beginnings[]

For a number of years, White had been writing and co-producing shows for the the Chuck E. Cheese franchise, headquartered in the Dallas area. The productions he wrote and co-produced would be used for audio production for the animatronic characters in Chuck E. Cheese locations. One of the people White worked with during audio sessions was Bob West. Upon asking West what he's been up to since they last saw each other, White learned that West was voicing Barney for the Barney & The Backyard Gang video series.

White became interested in the video series and wrote to Sheryl Leach pitching himself that he would like to work with the crew. White never heard anything back afterwards. White then saw a newspaper article that Barney & The Backyard Gang was to be spun into a television series on PBS. After seeing the ad, White assumed that the project was continuing without him. White sent another letter to Leach to remind her of his availability and one of congratulations. Leach quickly got back in touch, eager for White to come in for an interview. White gave Leach some of his work from Chuck E. Cheese. White has never written a television script but was sure he could learn when the opportunity was given.[1]

Out of the thirty writers interviewed, White was hired alongside Mark S. Bernthal. White (alongside Bernthal) was hired due to not inquiring what the job paid. White wrote the first episode for Barney & Friends which was "The Queen of Make-Believe".

Head writer[]

White was eventually promoted to head writer of Barney & Friends during the seventh season for a brief period. When promoted to head writer for the brief period, in he wrote the Barney bible, a thick book that discussed the individual characters and how to write a script. White stepped down as a head writer due to reasons involving the legal department of Barney & Friends. White returned to no longer being a head writer starting with season eight of Barney & Friends.

Changes[]

Around the time Karen Barnes became the executive producer of Barney & Friends, White's father passed. White took a break from Barney & Friends to help his mother. After taking a break, White was never contacted again from the new management of Barney & Friends. White's final writing credit for Barney & Friends was for the eleventh season.

Achievements[]

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Stephen White and Barney, posing with Barney & Friends' 2001 Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Live and Direct to Tape Sound Mixing.

Barney & Friends[]

White was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in 1993 in the category of "Outstanding Writing in a Children's Series" in honor of his work on the first season of Barney & Friends.[2] Mark S. Bernthal, another writer for Barney & Friends, was nominated alongside him.

Credits[]

Barney & Friends[]

Trivia[]

Barney[]

  • Out of all the other Barney writers, White has written the most episodes.
  • When writing the Barney character, White tried to portray him as the father he wanted to be for his own daughter.
  • White has expressed interest in wanting to consult on the upcoming Barney film being co-produced by Daniel Kaluuya.

Appearances[]

Favorites[]

Projects[]

Changed[]
  • White's original vision of Barney's Great Adventure was much different compared to the final version of the film. Much of the film was changed due to the director, Steve Gomer, viewing White's script as lengthy.[4]
  • The original vision of Barney's Musical Castle came from Stephen White. The show was turned over to multiple writers in order to put the script together.
Scrapped[]
  • In 1994, White co-wrote a song titled "When You Kiss Me, It Doesn't Make Me Sick" alongside Bob Singleton, which was meant for the film Barney's Great Adventure but was eventually scrapped.
  • In 1997, White wrote a song titled "Biscuits 'n' Beans", which was meant for Riders in the Sky to sing in the episode "Howdy, Friends!".
  • White penned a script titled "Barney's Get Well Card" on October 30, 1996. The script saw Barney and the kids going to the hospital to visit a friend. The project was scrapped due to the producers viewing the concept frightening for young viewers.
  • White penned a treatment titled "Barney's Magic of Music" on February 27, 2005. The treatment saw Barney take everyone to a magical music jungle where everything makes sound and music and eventually, Barney took his friends to the orchestra. where the kids help fill in for some orchestra members. The video would've been the big introduction for the character of Riff.
    • In the treatment for "Barney's Magic of Music", Riff was named "Zack" due to him not having a name yet.

Videos[]

Interviews[]

References[]

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