Sandy Duncan recently reminisced about her shocking encounter with Burt Reynolds afterward Barney and the Backyard Gang.
The 80-year-old actress and comedian lit up Nostalgia tonight with Joe Sibilia, where she opened up about playing Mom, the mother of characters Amy and Michael, in the original direct-to-video series Barney and the Backyard Gang while she was in the middle of the NBC sitcom The Hogan family from 1986 to 1991.
Reynolds was in the three videos, The backyard show, three wishesAnd A day at the beach, released between 1988 and 1989. After the success of three episodes, the producers wanted her to play the role in the television series, which was moved to PBS and became Barney & Friends. She notably did not accept the offer, but later regretted her decision.
“When I got there and saw what it was, I said, ‘Oh my God, what have I done?’ We filmed it and it was really bad [children’s] show. It ended because I had to go back to work,” Duncan told Sibilia, referring to her show The Hogan family.
She met with the makers of The Hogan family, “They all had Texas accents, and they said… ‘we’re going to have hugs and do all this.'”
It is pertinent to mention that the Pinocchio star received critical acclaim after her appearance in the original video series, and among many children, Reynolds’ son Quinton also wore his Barney VHS tape.
“We were at a big gathering, one of those events, and someone behind my back crept up to me and whispered in my ear, ‘I wanted to kill you.’ Because he had a toddler, and he said, ‘All we have on TV is you and Barney.'” Sandy Duncan recalled.
It is important to note that HBO Max is releasing a new animated series, Barney’s world, Set in a local playground in 2024, the show centers on the dinosaurs Barney, Billy and Baby Bop and their three best friends. Barney helps children discover big emotions in preschool and shows them how to love themselves and others.
