Janice Burgess, the creator of Nickelodeon’s The Backyardigans, has died at the age of 72.
Burgess’ passing was confirmed by fellow animation writer Fracaswell Hyman on Instagram. “Janice Burgess 1952-2024,” he captioned a photo of Janice sitting on the beach. “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.”
Burgess’s career spanned more than three decades. The legendary creator and writer joined Nickelodeon in 1995. Nearly a decade later, her animated series The Backyardigans, which she also executive-produced, was approved for 20 episodes in 2003.
“Janice swept in with her acid-tongued wit, flowing Hermes scarves and omnipresent cigarettes,” Hyman wrote in his post. “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.”
He went on to list the late writer’s TV credits, writing, “Janice created THE BACKYARDIGANS and guided countless other shows for Nickelodeon, Sesame Workshop, Disney and Apple TV. Hyman added, “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!”
He concluded his emotional post with a final farewell. “I will miss my dear friend,” Hyman wrote. “RIP. Oh, how we laughed…”
Burgess’ cause of death has not yet been announced.
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