Janice Burgess, Creator of The Backyardigans, Dead at 72

Janice Burgess, creator of Nickelodeon’s The Backyardigans, has died. She was 72 years old. According to Variety, Burgess, who reportedly had breast cancer, died on Saturday while in hospice care in Manhattan. Her passing was confirmed by former Nickelodeon colleague Brown Johnson. In a statement, Nickelodeon remembered Burgess as “one of the greats” who was dedicated to the preschool age audience.

“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,” the statement read. “Janice was one of the greats — inherently creative and kind and dedicated to the preschool audience everywhere.”

Burgess was born in Pittsburgh on March 1, 1952, and graduated from Brandeis University in 1973 with a degree in art history before pursuing a career in television. She began said career working in craft services for Pittsburgh’s WQED television station before working her way up to positions at Children’s Television Workshop where she worked on shows such as 3-2-1 Contact and Ghostwriter. At Nickelodeon, Burgess was an executive in charge of production for Nick Jr. and oversaw shows such as Allegra’s Window, Gullah Gullah Island, and Blue’s Clues before shifting to the more creative side of things. In 1998 she created a pilot for a live action full body puppet show, Me and My Friends, that ultimately didn’t go forward, but was re-tooled for animation and eventually led to the creation of The Backyardigans.

The Backyardigans may be Burgess’ most beloved creation. The series ran from 2004 to 2013 and spanned 80 episodes, following five animal best friends — Uniqua, Tyrone, Pablo, and Tasha — who had magical and imaginary adventures in their backyard. Episodes featured song and dance routines as part of the adventures. In addition to her work on The Backyardigans, Burgess also worked as a story editor on Winx Club and co-developed another beloved program, Bubble Guppies. She also was a producer on the Bill Cosby created Little Bill. Burgess was nominated for six Daytime Emmys for her work on the show, winning in 2008.

“Making The Backyardigans has become sort of like an adventure that I go on with my friends,” Burgess said of the series (via The Hollywood Reporter). Of course, we get paid, but we do get to be carefree in our work, enjoy each other, hang around a lot, travel a little bit, and make stuff up.”