Children's show creator

Sheryl Lyna Stamps Leach (born December 31, 1952) is an American children's TV show creator and author much known for being the creator of the popular children's show Barney & Friends. Kathy Parker and Dennis DeShazer joined her in creating the show. Leach left the show in 1998.

Career

Leach, a former teacher, worked with Parker on the idea that would become the eventual TV show in 1987. Originally, the star of the show was envisioned as a teddy bear, but since her toddler son sparked an interest in dinosaurs and they went to the museum in fall of that year, the character changed to a dinosaur. Leach then brought together a team who created a series of home videos called Barney and the Backyard Gang. The videos were sold directly to the public. Later, in 1991, Connecticut Public Television employee Larry Rifkin rented a Barney video for his daughter. He liked the concept, so he spoke with Leach and other creators about putting Barney on television. In October of that year, production began on the new TV show, *led Barney & Friends, and in April 1992, it premiered on PBS.

Leach, the daughter of Texas educators Billy and Mary (Whitesides) Stamps, was born in Henderson County, Texas, and raised in Dallas. A graduate of Kimball High School in Dallas, she holds a bachelor's degree from Southern Methodist University and a master's and honorary doctorate from Texas A&M University–Commerce.

The Smithy

In 2007, Leach and husband, Howard Rosenfeld, founded The Smithy, a specialty retail outlet in the village of New Preston in Litchfield County, Connecticut that sources and sells local artisan foods and handicrafts and supports local farmers and makers.

When they moved to Litchfield County in 2000, Leach and Rosenfeld were struck by the richness of the agricultural history, craftsmen, and artisans of the area. They wanted to address the pressures on local agricultural producers, many of whom were forced to abandon farms that had been in their families for generations. The mission of The Smithy was to create awareness in the community of local capabilities and the diversity of products, while supporting local farmers and makers.

The location of The Smithy was the original blacksmith shop in New Preston, and they set out to save the rustic historic building. A careful renovation was done to acknowledge the heritage of the property. Along with operating the retail shop, Leach and Rosenfeld created a community space offering workshops for different skills. Workshops include canning, quilting, composting, sewing, knitting, timber-framing, needle felting, and woodworking.

References

External links

• Sheryl Leach at IMDb
• Startup Nation - Thinking Big, Really Big: Sheryl Leach