Janice Burgess, 'The Backyardigans' Creator and 'Little Bill' Executive Producer, Dead at 72
Janice Burgess, the Emmy-winning creator of Nickelodeon's The Backyardigans, has died. She was 72.
According to The New York Times, Burgess died Saturday in hospice care in Manhattan. On Tuesday, Nickelodeon confirmed the screenwriter's death in a statement to ET.
“We are saddened to learn of the passing of one of the great architects of Nick Jr. and creator of the globally beloved series, The Backyardigans. Janice was one of the greats--inherently creative and kind, and dedicated to the preschool audience everywhere," a rep for the children's television network shared.
Burgess, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native, began her career in Hollywood in the early 1990s, working as a production manager on Gullah, Gullah Island, Allegra's Window and Blue's Clues until 2002, her IMDb page states.
From there, she acted as a co-executive producer on Little Bill before ultimately launching The Backyardigans in 2003.
According to Nickelodeon's Animation website, Burgess was inspired to create the show -- which focuses on a group of friends exploring their backyard and imagining up adventures -- by her own experiences as a child.
"Janice’s inspiration for The Backyardigans was her own backyard in Pittsburgh," the page states. "As a kid, she and her friends would play hide and seek and imagine they were sailing ships and fending off lions." The show ran from 2004 to 2013 and created 80 episodes.
In a tribute posted to Instagram Monday, Fracaswell Hyman -- producer of The Famous Jett Jackson and Gullah, Gullah Island -- remembered his friend and former co-worker for her "acid-tongued wit" and for seeing his talent before even he did.
"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 shared.
"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," he wrote. "Oh, how we laughed! I will miss my dear friend. RIP. Oh, how we laughed…"
Burgess also worked as a producer and writer for Nickelodeon's Winx Club and Bubble Guppies.
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