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The creator of Nickelodeon's The Backyardigans, Janice Burgess, passed away at 72.
She was born in Pittsburgh and graduated from Brandeis University in 1973 with a degree in art history, The Daily Mail reports. From there, she worked craft services for WQED TV and then moved on to the Children's Television Workshop. Ultimately, she joined Nickelodeon as an executive and oversaw shows like Blue's Clues, Allegra's Window, and more.
About The Backyardigans
The Backyardigans emerged from her concepts. It was an animated musical series centered around five animal neighbors with big imaginations. Each episode focuses on a different musical genre. It ran for four seasons, from 2004 to 2009.
No cause of death has been determined at this time.
Fracaswell Hyman, an animation writer, posted a tribute about her on Instagram. He wrote, “I met Janice Burgess early in my career when I was head writer on GULLAH GULLAH ISLAND and she was assigned to be our Executive in Charge of Production. This is the person the network sends to the set to make sure the money is not going to waste.”
Hyman added, “Janice swept in with her acid-tongued wit, flowing Hermes scarves and Omnipresent cigarettes. Instead of an overseer, she became a friend. She recognized my magic before I did and made sure I was in the room and under consideration for many of the shows that came my way including LITTLE BILL and TANIA.”
He ends the post with, “Janice, Maria Perez-Brown and I developed shows together, gossiped together and oh, how we laughed! I will miss my dear friend. RIP. Oh, how we laughed…”
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