Janice Burgess, the mastermind behind the beloved children’s series The Backyardigans, passed away at the age of 72.
While the cause of her death remains undisclosed, fellow animation writer Fracaswell Hyman confirmed the heartbreaking news via Instagram on Monday, March 4th.
“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,” he wrote alongside a photo of Burgess relaxing at the beach.
Hyman praised Burgess’ vibrant and assertive presence, and recognized her hand in shows including Taina and Little Bill before she created The Backyardigans.
He continued:
“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 ‘TAINA.’ Janice created ‘THE BACKYARDIGANS’ and guided countless other shows for Nickelodeon, Sesame Workshop, Disney and Apple TV. Her script/story critiques were astute, clear and constructive — and I really thank her for that. 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…”
Burgess is a Pittsburgh native and graduated from Brandeis University in 1973 with a degree in art history.
According to VIBE after winning an Emmy, she told Investor’s Business Daily in 2009 that she didn’t enjoy traveling in “art circles,” which led to her pursuing a career in television.
She worked low-level gigs, starting off as the head of craft services at her local TV station until she heard of an opening at Nickelodeon. She got the role as executive in charge of production at NickJr. in 1995, where she oversaw the production of hit series including Little Bill and Blue’s Clues.
Burgess created a pilot for a live-action full body puppet show titled Me and My Friends in 1998, but that idea was reconceptualized and was made into The Backyardigans.
“Sometimes your first attempt is just not all that great. In this case, my second attempt was much better,” she told the outlet. Burgess also revealed that one of the characters, Uniqua, was based on herself.
“Uniqua is me. Or at least who I was as a kid. She’s a ringleader. Out of the five, Uniqua is the main character, and we use her in every story. I think preschoolers have a sense of their own specialness, and that’s what Uniqua is all about.”
The Backyardigans premiered on Sept. 11, 2004 and aired its final episode on July 12, 2013.
What a loss, may she rest in peace.
