Janice Burgess (March 1, 1952 – March 2, 2024)
was an American television executive, screenwriter and producer for
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
. She created the
Nick Jr. series ''
The Backyardigans
''The Backyardigans'' ( ) is an animated musical children's television series created by Janice Burgess for Nickelodeon. The series was written and recorded at Nickelodeon Animation Studio. It centers on five anthropomorphic animal neighbors ...
'' and worked as a writer and story editor for Nickelodeon's
revival of ''Winx Club''. Both shows were produced at the
Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Nickelodeon Animation Studio Inc. (also known as Nickelodeon Animation Studios or Nick Animation and credited as Nickelodeon Productions on-screen) is an American animation studio owned by Paramount Global through the Nickelodeon Group. It has c ...
. Burgess joined Nickelodeon in 1995 as executive-in-charge of production.
Early life and education
Burgess was born in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, where she grew up in the
Squirrel Hill
Squirrel Hill is a residential neighborhood in the East End of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The city officially divides it into two neighborhoods, Squirrel Hill North and Squirrel Hill South, but it is almost universally treated ...
neighborhood and attended
the Ellis School
The Ellis School is an independent, all-girls, college-preparatory school located in the Shadyside section in the east end of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The school serves girls aged 3 to grade 12.
History
20th century
When Pittsburgh's P ...
.
[Owen, Rob]
"Q&A with Janice Burgess"
, ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...
'', October 8, 2006. Accessed January 18, 2008. "Landing Keys was a treat for series creator Janice Burgess, a Squirrel Hill native and a 1974 graduate of The Ellis School." She frequently played in her backyard, and she later used those memories as inspiration for ''The Backyardigans''. "I really remember it as a wonderful, happy, safe place... you could have these great adventures just romping around. From there, you could go anywhere or do anything." She loved musicals, and her mother frequently played a wide array of music.
Planning to become an art historian, she graduated from
Brandeis University
Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...
in 1974 with a bachelor's degree in art history.
[Seitz, Patrick]
"The Children's TV Hit Master"
''Investor's Business Daily
''Investor's Business Daily'' (''IBD'') is an American newspaper and website covering the stock market, international business, finance, and economics. Founded in 1984 by William O'Neil as a print newspaper, it is owned by News Corp and headquar ...
'', December 11, 2009.
Career
According to an interview with ''
Investor's Business Daily
''Investor's Business Daily'' (''IBD'') is an American newspaper and website covering the stock market, international business, finance, and economics. Founded in 1984 by William O'Neil as a print newspaper, it is owned by News Corp and headquar ...
'', Burgess did not enjoy traveling "in art circles with collectors and
high society
High society, sometimes simply Society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth, power, fame and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open ...
," so she sought out a different career after college. She volunteered for a job at the public television station
WQED, where she was put in charge of
craft services.
[
In the early 1990s, Burgess held positions at the ]Children's Television Workshop
Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization and television company that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's programs—includin ...
, including as an assistant travel coordinator for ''3-2-1 Contact
''3-2-1 Contact'' is an American science educational television show produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW, now known as Sesame Workshop). It aired on PBS from 1980 to 1988 and later ran on Noggin (a joint venture between the C ...
'' and project manager for ''Ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...
''.[ For the latter, she coordinated the efforts of a tie-in magazine and teacher materials with the content and goals of the television show. It was during this job that she was notified of an opening at ]Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
; Burgess joked that she interviewed for the job "about 11,000 times."[ She was hired as the executive in charge of production for Nick Jr., overseeing the development of '']Blue's Clues
''Blue's Clues'' is an American interactive educational television, educational children's television series created by Traci Paige Johnson, Todd Kessler, and Angela Santomero, Angela C. Santomero. It premiered on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block ...
'' and ''Little Bill
''Little Bill'' is an American animated educational children's television series created by Bill Cosby. It is based on the ''Little Bill'' book series, written by Cosby with illustrations by Varnette P. Honeywood. Cosby also composed some of th ...
''. Burgess later became the vice president of Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. division.
''The Backyardigans''
While working as an executive, Burgess attended scripting and concept development meetings, where she enjoyed helping the creative teams with characters and storylines.[ Burgess was eventually given the opportunity to transition to a creative role by the senior vice president of Nick Jr, Brown Johnson. She asked Burgess to develop an idea for a new Nick Jr. show, and Burgess produced a pilot episode called " Me and My Friends" at Nickelodeon Studios Florida in 1998.][ The pilot was a live-action, full-body puppet show that featured music and dance;][Seitz, Patrick]
"Animated kids' show 'The Backyardigans' began as a full-body puppet show"
''Tech-media-tainment'', December 10, 2009. it was not picked up for a full series. Several months after the rejection, Brown Johnson asked Burgess to retool the concept, as she liked the characters and music from Burgess's pilot and felt the show would work better in animation.[
Using the characters from "Me and My Friends," Burgess wrote a second pilot, which was produced at Nickelodeon's New York studio in 2001. The show, now fully animated and renamed ''The Backyardigans'', was greenlit for a full season of 20 episodes. Reflecting on the shift to animation, Burgess said, "Sometimes your first attempt is just not all that great. In this case, my second attempt was much better."][ ''The Backyardigans'' premiered on Nickelodeon on October 11, 2004.
Burgess served as executive producer for ''The Backyardigans'' throughout its run of four seasons. In 2006, she described her work on the show positively: "making ''The Backyardigans'' has become sort of like an adventure that I go on with my friends. 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 up stuff."
Burgess drew inspiration from ]action film
The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...
s when writing episodes of the show, as she wanted to adapt high-stakes stories for a young audience.[ She also was inspired by memories of playing in her own childhood backyard.] The series received eight Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...
nominations, and Burgess won the 2008 Emmy for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program. After ''The Backyardigans'' wrapped production in 2010 on the fourth and final season, much of the series' staff members regrouped to work on Nickelodeon's ''Winx Club
''Winx Club'' is an animated television series co-produced by Rainbow S.p.A., Rainbow and, later, Nickelodeon. It was created and directed by Italian animator Iginio Straffi. It premiered on 28January 2004, becoming a ratings success in Ita ...
'', including Burgess. She worked as a writer, story editor, and creative consultant on the action-adventure series.
Death
Burgess died in hospice care in Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
on March 2, 2024, one day after her 72nd birthday. She was diagnosed with breast cancer
Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...
in 2018, six years prior to her death.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgess, Janice
1952 births
2024 deaths
American entertainment industry businesspeople
Television producers from Pennsylvania
American women television writers
African-American television writers
American television writers
African-American television producers
Businesspeople from Pittsburgh
Deaths from breast cancer in New York (state)
The Ellis School alumni
Brandeis University alumni
Nickelodeon Animation Studio people
American television show creators