Who was Janice Burgess? All about the creator of Nickelodeon's 'The Backyardigans' as she dies aged 72

American TV screenwriter and producer Janice Burgess passed away at the age of 72. Burgess was known for the creation of Nickelodian's iconic children's TV show, The Backyardigans, which ran from 2004 to 2013. Her passing was confirmed by a longtime friend and fellow writer, Fracaswell Hyman in a social media post on Monday, March 4.

Hyman wrote:

"Janice swept in with her acid-tongued wit, flowing Hermes scarves and omnipresent cigarettes. Instead of an overseer, she became a friend."

The exact reason and date of her passing has not yet been revealed. Burgess' work in The Backyardigans and Little Bill earned her a whopping 8 shared Daytime Emmy nominations and two victories. Burgess' latest work as mentioned by IMdB is Nickelodeon's Bubble Guppies, which ran till 2016.

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Janice Burgess and her illustrious Nickelodeon career

Janice Burgess was an icon of children's TV shows. The Brandeis University art history graduate initially displayed her talents while working at Pittsburg's WQED TV before transitioning to the Children's Television Workshop, where she worked on well-received, now cult-classic shows such as Ghostwriter, and 3-2-1 Contact.

According to IMDb, after joining Nickelodeon, Burgess was handed the position of executive in charge of production for Nick Jr. Whilst in that position, Janice Burgess oversaw iconic projects including Gullah, Gullah Island, Blue's Clues, and, Allegra's Window. She was also the VP of production for Blue's Clues, which ran from 1996 to 2002.

After working as a co-executive producer for 2003's iconic show, Little Bill, Burgess cemented her spot as a legend in children's daytime television with the creation of The Backyardigans. The project, in which she also worked as a writer and executive producer ran from 2004 to 2013.

According to IMDb, The Backyardigans earned Janice, 6 shared Daytime Emmy Award nominations, in which she won the 2008 Award for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program. She had earlier won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Animated Program in 2004 with Little Bill, which also received an Outstanding Special Class Animated Program nomination in 2002.

Later in 2012, post the success of The Backyardigans, Janice worked as the script writer, story editor, and creative consultant for Winx Club, which ran from 2011 to 2015. She also co-developed and co-executive produced the iconic Bubble Guppies from 2011 to 2016. Additionally, Janice also has co-executive producer credits for the 2012 TV Movie, Bubble Puppy's Fin-tastic Fairytale Adventure.

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Fracaswell Hyman posts heartfelt tribute to Janice Burgess

On Monday, March 4, a writer, actor, and longtime friend of Janice Burgess, Fracaswell Hyman released an Instagram post stating that Janice had passed away. He told the story of how Janice was appointed executive in charge of production while he was working as a head writer in Gullah, Gullah Island. Janice was sent in by the network to ensure that no money was going to waste.

Hyman talked about how Janice recognized his talent even before he did and ensured that he was under consideration for many of the shows that came his way, including Little Bill and Taina. Hyman continued:

"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."

Netizens paid tribute to Janice under Hyman's post (Image via Instagram/@fracaswell)

Fracaswell Hyman concluded his heartfelt tribute to Janice by reminiscing about the personal and professional friendship between him, Janice, and writer and producer, Maria Perez-Brown.