Barkley



Barkley is a full-bodied Muppet dog who appears on Sesame Street. Barkley was originally called Woof-Woof when he first appeared in Season 9. In the 10th season premiere, Episode 1186, the cast voted to rename him Barkley.

Barkley is energetic and playful, but is not anthropomorphized in the way that Rowlf and other characters are. While he may exhibit human-like emotions, he communicates only through barks, yelps, and physical contact, just like a real dog. He was Linda's dog and understood the American Sign Language signs for "sit" and "stay." However, Barkely also had a close relationship with Big Bird. Indeed, in the 1997 book, Big Bird Meets Santa Claus, the large bird refers to Barkley as his dog. Although Linda has since moved on from Sesame Street, Barkley has remained, presumably becoming a ward of the community as a whole.

Barkley's appearances in television specials include the now-obscure A Special Sesame Street Christmas. More prominently, he accompanied Big Bird on his trips to China in 1982 and Japan in 1988. He also appeared with the Muppets en masse on Night of 100 Stars. Additionally, for many seasons (until 1992), the Sesame Street closing credits depicted Barkley running through a park with the Kids.

Original performer Toby Towson claimed, in a 2003 [|Wikipedia] edit, that the full-bodied puppet character was initially conceived as an acrobatic ape.

Book Appearances

 * The Sesame Street Dictionary (1980)
 * A Day in the Life of Oscar the Grouch (1981)
 * Big and Little Stories (1982)
 * Puppy Love (1983)
 * I Think That It Is Wonderful (1984)
 * Big Bird's Copycat Day (1985)
 * A Bird's Best Friend (1986)
 * Sesame Street ABC (1986)
 * Big Bird's Busy Day (1987)
 * A Birthday Surprise (1987)
 * Alice's First Words (1989)
 * I Want to Be a Veterinarian (1992)
 * We're Different, We're the Same (1992)
 * Around the Corner on Sesame Street (1994)
 * Elmo's Lift-and-Peek Around the Corner Book (1996)
 * Rise and Shine! (1999)