Janice Burgess, the two-time Daytime Emmy winner who created the beloved animated musical series The Backyardigans for Nickelodeon, has died. She was 72.
Burgess died Saturday in hospice care in Manhattan of breast cancer, her former Nickelodeon colleague Brown Johnson told The New York Times.
The Backyardigans ran for four seasons on Nick Jr. from 2004-13 and was a big hit with preschoolers. It centered on five animal neighbors — Uniqua, Pablo, Tyrone, Tasha and Austin — who meet in their shared backyard and embark on imaginary and magical adventures, often visiting different parts of the world or traveling back or forward in time.
Burgess was a production executive at Nick Jr. when she came up with the idea for a live-action show called Me and My Friends, with the characters wearing full-body puppet costumes. When execs didn’t go for that, she suggested computer animation to get The Backyardigans greenlighted.
“Making The...
Burgess died Saturday in hospice care in Manhattan of breast cancer, her former Nickelodeon colleague Brown Johnson told The New York Times.
The Backyardigans ran for four seasons on Nick Jr. from 2004-13 and was a big hit with preschoolers. It centered on five animal neighbors — Uniqua, Pablo, Tyrone, Tasha and Austin — who meet in their shared backyard and embark on imaginary and magical adventures, often visiting different parts of the world or traveling back or forward in time.
Burgess was a production executive at Nick Jr. when she came up with the idea for a live-action show called Me and My Friends, with the characters wearing full-body puppet costumes. When execs didn’t go for that, she suggested computer animation to get The Backyardigans greenlighted.
“Making The...
- 3/5/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Janice Burgess, creator of Nickelodeon’s “The Backyardigans,” died on Saturday in hospice care in Manhattan, according to The New York Times. She was 72.
“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,'” Nickelodeon said in a statement. “Janice was one of the greats–inherently creative and kind, and dedicated to the preschool audience everywhere.”
Animation writer Fracaswell Hyman, who met Burgess while both were working on “Gullah Gullah Island,” wrote on Instagram, “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.'”
The statement continued, “Janice, Maria Perez-Brown...
“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,'” Nickelodeon said in a statement. “Janice was one of the greats–inherently creative and kind, and dedicated to the preschool audience everywhere.”
Animation writer Fracaswell Hyman, who met Burgess while both were working on “Gullah Gullah Island,” wrote on Instagram, “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.'”
The statement continued, “Janice, Maria Perez-Brown...
- 3/5/2024
- by Caroline Brew
- Variety Film + TV
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