Janice Burgess, the executive producer of Nickelodeon Jr.'s "The Backyardigans," reportely died at the age of 72.
According to The New York Times's report on March 5, Burgess succumbed to breast cancer as confirmed to them by her longtime friend Brown Johnson.
The 72-year-old television executive passed away in hospice care in Manhattan last Saturday, March 2.
In an Instagram post, veteran TV writer and producer Fracaswell Hyman mourned the death of Burgess, whom he had worked with for some shows on Nickelodeon.
"Her script/story critiques were astute, clear, and constructive - and I really thank her for that," he captioned.
"Janice, Maria Perez-Brown, and I developed shows together, gossiped together, and oh, how we laughed! I will miss my dear friend. RIP. Oh, how we laughed," Hyman added.
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Nickelodeon Jr. also grieved for the loss of Burgess.
"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. Janice Burgess was one of the greats--inherently creative and kind, and dedicated to the preschool audience everywhere," it said in a Facebook post.
"The Backyardigans", a television series featuring five animal neighbors, ran for nine years, from 2004 to 2013.
The series had 80 episodes over four seasons. The first episode was piloted in 2004 and the last episode was premiered in 2013.
"The Backyardigans" bagged the Outstanding Individual Achievement award in Animation at the Daytime Emmy Awards in 2007.
Burgess also previously worked on popular shows such as "Blue's Clues", "Bubble Guppies", "Little Bill", and "Gullah, Gullah Island."
