Toby Towson
Encyclopedia
Toby Towson is a gymnast
and dancer. He performed Sesame Street
Muppet dog Barkley in its debut appearances, in A Special Sesame Street Christmas
and season 10.
Towson has had a career in gymnastics, acrobatics, and dance, and was a 1968 and 1969 NCAA Gymnastics Champion. He is a graduate of Michigan State University.
As an assistant to U.S. Women’s gymnastics coach Kelli Hill, Towson coached Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes
. He has coached nationally with the USA Gymnastics Talent Opportunity Program and is a National Level Judge with USA Gymnastics.
Following a personal friendship with the Henson
family, Towson was tapped to model for the building of a new Sesame Street
character which would debut for the tenth anniversary season of Sesame Street. At first the costume was going to be an ape-like creature which could do acrobatics
, so as a professional gymnast
and dance
r, Towson was a natural pick. As the costume was created however, the writers decided to make it into a large furry dog whose original name was "Woov-woov", but no one was happy with that name. It was changed to "Barkley" after the first few appearances on the show. Since Towson was comfortable in the costume, and it fit him, Jim offered him a one year contract to be on call for Children's Television Workshop, and Towson appeared as "Barkley" for several months until Connelly took over.
Towson continued his acrobatic dancing career and directed the Musawwir Gymnastic Dance Company which performed from a home base in Manhattan
for ten years, approximately 1976-1986. Towson currently teaches dance for Washington County Public Schools in Hagerstown, Maryland, and coaches gymnastics and dance at Rainbow Gymnastics in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
.
As of , Towson is living with his wife, Kathryn Talbott, in Boonsboro, Maryland
.
Gymnast
Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...
and dancer. He performed Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
Muppet dog Barkley in its debut appearances, in A Special Sesame Street Christmas
A Special Sesame Street Christmas
A Special Sesame Street Christmas was a low-budget 1978 CBS Christmas special, made the same year as the legendary and still popular Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. The special was first broadcast on Friday, December 8, 1978 at 8 PM ET on CBS, pre-empting Wonder Woman that week.The special features...
and season 10.
Towson has had a career in gymnastics, acrobatics, and dance, and was a 1968 and 1969 NCAA Gymnastics Champion. He is a graduate of Michigan State University.
As an assistant to U.S. Women’s gymnastics coach Kelli Hill, Towson coached Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes
Dominique Dawes
Dominique Margaux Dawes is a retired United States artistic gymnast. She was 10-year member of the U.S. national gymnastics team, the 1994 U.S. all-around senior National Champion, a three-time Olympian, a World Championships silver medalist and a member of the gold-medal winning "Magnificent...
. He has coached nationally with the USA Gymnastics Talent Opportunity Program and is a National Level Judge with USA Gymnastics.
Following a personal friendship with the Henson
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
family, Towson was tapped to model for the building of a new Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
character which would debut for the tenth anniversary season of Sesame Street. At first the costume was going to be an ape-like creature which could do acrobatics
Acrobatics
Acrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, as well as many sports...
, so as a professional gymnast
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
and dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
r, Towson was a natural pick. As the costume was created however, the writers decided to make it into a large furry dog whose original name was "Woov-woov", but no one was happy with that name. It was changed to "Barkley" after the first few appearances on the show. Since Towson was comfortable in the costume, and it fit him, Jim offered him a one year contract to be on call for Children's Television Workshop, and Towson appeared as "Barkley" for several months until Connelly took over.
Towson continued his acrobatic dancing career and directed the Musawwir Gymnastic Dance Company which performed from a home base in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
for ten years, approximately 1976-1986. Towson currently teaches dance for Washington County Public Schools in Hagerstown, Maryland, and coaches gymnastics and dance at Rainbow Gymnastics in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
As of , Towson is living with his wife, Kathryn Talbott, in Boonsboro, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
.