When Steve Burns announced his departure from Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues in 2002, the news
broke the hearts of children and parents alike. Starting in 1996, the actor became widely
beloved while playing the friendly owner of a little blue dog named Blue, who left clues
all over their shared cartoon house. But after six years and 100 episodes, Burns decided
it was time to say goodbye to Blue and the children's show that made him famous.
"I'm gonna miss you."
"Bow bow."
"Bye, bye, bye, bow."
On-screen, Steve departed for college in his last episode and left Blue in the care of
his brother Joe. Off-screen, people widely speculated about Burns' reason for leaving
the successful show. Plenty of bizarre stories circulated that Burns wanted to leave Blue's
Clues to pursue a music career and fell into drug addiction, or that he had died, among
other rumors.
"Hiya, Blue. Nice to meet you. I'm your new friend Joe."
"Where is Steve?"
"Steve had to go into witness protection."
However, Burns always debunked these false reports. While he did pursue a music career,
Burns said that was just part of the reason he left the Nickelodeon series.
The other reason? He was experiencing hair loss. During the 2006 Nickelodeon special
Behind the Clues: 10 Years with Blue, Burns said he realized he was losing his hair quickly
at age 29. It became one of the main reasons why he left Blue's Clues.
Burns elaborated…
"I knew I wasn't going to be doing children's television all my life, mostly because I refused
to lose my hair on a kid's TV show. And it was happening — fast."
In addition to his hair loss, the actor and musician felt like he was at a crossroads
in his life. After chasing down clues for 100 episodes of the series, Burns wanted to
pursue other projects. Plus, many of the people he worked with on the TV show started to move
on in their careers.
In 2016, Burns told HuffPost...
"I just had a gut feeling like it was time to go."
And he was right. After Blue's Clues, Burns made a splash as a musician, often collaborating
with Steven Drozd from The Flaming Lips. In 2003, Burns released his first album, Songs
for Dustmites. One of the album's tracks, "Mighty Little Man" was eventually used as
the theme song of the CBS sitcom, Young Sheldon. In 2004, Burns told Spin Magazine that Thomas
Edison, inventor of the light bulb, inspired the single.
Burns said...
"I wanted to write a positive, empowering exclamation point of a song."
But that was just the start of his musical journey. In 2009, Burns released another album
called Deep Sea Recovery Efforts with his band, The Struggle. In 2017, he also released
a musical Audible audiobook called Foreverywhere about a unicorn and a group of fantastical
misfits who form a rock band and deal with mystical obstacles — including a rival band.
And, of course, Burns continued to act throughout the years and even had a guest spot on Young
Sheldon as a serious Star Trek fan.
"This is Nathan. He's been to four Comic-Cons."
"And he's leaving."
“Are you sure?"
"Beam your ass out of here."
"Yes, ma'am."
Blue's Clues went off the air in 2006, but, luckily for fans, the show returned as the
Nickelodeon revival series Blue's Clues & You!, starring Josh Dela Cruz, in 2019. In the premiere
episode, Burns appeared along with on-screen brother Joe.
In an interview with ScaryMommy, Burns shared his enthusiasm for the revival and his new
behind-the-scenes role.
"I'm writing, directing, and all that stuff, and mentoring Josh a bit."
Burns is a consulting producer on the series, while also writing two episodes and directing
four. Even though he never intended to reappear on-screen, Burns said he pitched the idea
that Steve grew up to be a detective — but not a very good one. The producers loved it
so much they convinced Burns to appear in the 2019 premiere.
While so much time has passed, Steve still has a sweet connection to Blue. During the
premiere, Steve and Joe help their cousin Josh with a set of Blue's clues that stumped
him via the new video phone function of their handy dandy notebooks. Then, in December 2020,
Burns made another appearance as Steve in the Blues Clues & You! holiday episode. The
character returned to help Blue and Josh decorate their Christmas tree — and it looked like
Blue was more than happy to see him.
Although Burns' departure from Blue's Clues broke fans' hearts, it sounds like he now
has a more well-rounded involvement with the show than ever before.
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