Khevin Barnes

Khevin Barnes
Born	Khevin Barnes 1950

Khevin Barnes, a.k.a. Dr. Wilderness, was the host and producer of The Dr. Wilderness Show—California’s longest running environmental magic show. The program began in 1988 as a seven month walk–through 55 countries–in a circumnavigation of planet Earth, dubbed “Magic Trek”.

During the expedition The Dr. Wilderness program brought a message of conservation and caring to children and families the world over, performing hundreds of free shows along the way. Corporate sponsorship for this event brought an offer for a television special, and on Earth Day 1994 The Dr. Wilderness Show was aired as a family prime-time special on CBS stations nationwide, receiving multiple Emmy Awards. Touring for the U.S. Department of Defense, Khevin took the show to Japan, Okinawa, Korea, and Germany before settling into Southern California as home base for the program.

The San Diego County Water Authority sponsored the show for an unprecedented 15 years with performances in more than 3,500 elementary schools. Other primary sponsors include The Walt Disney Company, Portland General Electric and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, funding the show in a two year tour through Oregon, Washington, Montana and Alakska. In other tours the program was presented in Ecuador, China, Grand Cayman Island and onboard Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruise lines.

Khevin Barnes is a veteran performer of the Hollywood Magic Castle where he entertained audiences for 10 years in the 1980’s and served as magical host at “Magic Island” in Newport Beach California, before dedicating his show and his life to “planet Earth, and every kid on it.”

In 2011 Khevin returned to perform once again at the Hollywood Magic Castle after a 22 year hiatus, as “Dr. Wilderness”.

Khevin is a graduate of Walt Disney elementary school in Anaheim, California, and it was there that he met Walt in 1957, just two years after Disneyland’s grand opening. He worked at Disneyland as a cast member in 1972 at the age of 22, and returned to work for a year in 2007 having just turned 57 years young. During the interim he was hired to work outside the park presenting environmental magic shows as Dr. Wilderness for Disney produced corporate events. It was during this time that the philosophy and creative influence of Walt found its way into Khevin’s life and forever changed the way he would produce and perform his magic.

Khevin officially retired as Dr. Wilderness in 2020 and returned to performing on the 5-string banjo for audiences in Arizona.

Contributions

• The Mystery of the Seven Veils, M-U-M, Vol. 93, February 2004, page 20

References

• Magic, Vol. 21, No. 3, November 2021, page 37