By CHRIS PETERSON
Children and parents who repeatedly sing the 'I Love You' song made famous by the large purple dinosaur, Barney, experienced a scare last week when the actor who plays the dinosaur inhaled smoke in a filming accident in Dallas.
The unnamed actor suffered from smoke inhalation when a cooling fan inside the 60-pound suit shorted out while filming the 'Barney and Friends' TV show.
The 'Barney and Friends' cast was filming for the upcoming fall season.
The actor inhaled smoke as he struggled to get out of the large suit, saidSusan Elsner, spokeswoman for Lyrick Studios and the Lyons Group, which created and produces the children's show.
Elsner said the actor did not suffer from any burns and only inhaled a 'slight amount of smoke.' The actor was released from the hospital after a routine examination.
Once the accident was reported on television, the studio began receiving numerous calls from anxious parents who said their children were worried about their favorite dinosaur.
Many parents called to verify that the accident actually took place, fearing that it was all a cruel joke.
'It can be really devastating to a 3-year-old,' Elsner said on Wednesday. 'They love Barney and they think that something terrible has happened to him.'
Elsner wished to clear rumors that Barney was in any extreme danger.
Barney has become a household name since 'Barney and Friends' became a top-ranking program for children under age 6. Barney's public TV show is seen in 30 countries across six continents.
Although fun and lovable to children, Barney has come under attack on numerous sites on the Internet including '38 Ways to Kill Barney' (http://personal.nbnet.nb.ca/jterhune/short.html). Ironically, smoke inhalation from a shorted-out cooling system was not one of the ways listed to kill the purple dinosaur.