Toby Towson

Who is Toby Towson?

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 he 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 dancer, 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.