- While the cause of his death was not immediately revealed, his passing was confirmed by animation writer Fracaswell Hyman on social media.
- He shared a picture of Burgess enjoying her time on the beach as he revealed how he met her in the early 1990s.
- “I met Janice Burgess early in my career, when I was a senior writer on Gullah Gullah Island,” he began
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The world of animation and children’s television is in mourning with the news that The Backyardigans creator Janice Burgess has died at the age of 72.
While the cause of his death was not immediately revealed, his passing was confirmed by animation writer Fracaswell Hyman in social media posts.
He shared a picture of Burgess enjoying her time on the beach as he revealed how he met her in the early 1990s.
“I met Janice Burgess early in my career when I was head writer on Gullah Gullah Island and she was assigned as our executive in charge of production,” he said.
He explained that the Executive in Charge of Production was basically, ‘the person the network sends to the set to make sure the money doesn’t go to waste.
The world of animation and children’s television is in mourning with the news of the death of Janice Burgess, creator of The Backyardigans, at the age of 72.
While the cause of his death was not immediately revealed, his passing was confirmed by animation writer Fracaswell Hyman in social media posts.
“Janice created The Backyardigans and guided many other shows for Nickelodeon, Sesame Workshop, Disney and Apple TV,” he continued.
‘Janice came in with her biting wit, her billowing Hermes scarves and her ubiquitous cigarettes. Instead of a supervisor, she became a friend,” she added.
“She recognized my magic before I did and made sure I was in the room and considered for many of the shows that came my way, including Little Bill and Tania,” he added.
“Janice created The Backyardigans and guided many other shows for Nickelodeon, Sesame Workshop, Disney and Apple TV,” he continued.
“His critiques of the script and story were astute, clear and constructive, and I really appreciate it,” he added.
‘Janice, María Pérez-Brown and I develop programs together, we gossip together and oh how we laugh! I will miss my dear friend. RIP. Oh, how we laugh…’, she concluded.
Burgess was born in the Squirrel Hill area of Pittsburgh and graduated from Brandeis University in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in art history.
He told Investor’s Business Daily that he realized he didn’t like traveling in “artistic circles,” so he decided to try a new career path in television.
He first worked in craft services for television station WQED in Pittsburgh and eventually held positions at Children’s Television Workshop, where he worked on shows such as 3-2-1 Contact and Ghostwriter.
‘Janice came in with her biting wit, her billowing Hermes scarves and her ubiquitous cigarettes. Instead of a supervisor, she became a friend,” she added.
However, he was encouraged to retool the concept for animation, which eventually became his hit series The Backyardigans.
She also served as a story editor on Winx Club before retiring from Nickelodeon.
He also co-developed the Bubble Guppies series.
Burgess joined Nickelodeon as the executive in charge of production for Nickelodeon’s Nick Jr. channel.
He oversaw hit shows such as Blue’s Clues, Allegra’s Window and Gullah Gullah Island, before devoting himself to the creative side of the business.
Burgess created a pilot for a live-action full-body puppet show called Me and My Friends in 1998, although it did not advance.
However, he was encouraged to retool the concept for animation, which eventually became his hit series The Backyardigans.
She also served as story editor on Winx Club and also co-developed the Bubble Guppies series.