'Blue's Clues' star Steve Burns 'hurt' by death hoax: 'It kind of messed me up'
Steve Burns, the original host of the popular kids’ show Blue’s Clues, opened up about the death hoax that surrounded him for years, saying he got “hurt” and that it kind of "messed [him] up."
The actor got real about how the long-standing rumor affected him, saying that it made him feel that he became an “urban legend.”
“Everyone thought I was dead for a while. I was kind of an urban legend. And that hurt, to be honest,” he said in an interview with The New York Times.
“And it kind of messed me up because that was happening while the internet was just sort of beginning to internet,” he said, noting, “No one, including myself, was kind of prepared for the degree of consensus that it represented.”
“When a zillion, trillion people all think you’re dead for 15 years, it freaks you out,” he continued.
The actor, who also pursued a music career, shared why he decided to leave the kids’ show.
“I was just exhausted,” he said, adding that he filmed the show with just a blue screen. “I was in every take of every shot, every day, with no other actors or props or anything, just sort of standing in a void for years and years.”
Steve made a surprise video in 2021 during the 25th celebration of Blue’s Clues, where he explained his departure from the kiddie offering, which he revealed wasn’t scripted.
“I just kind of stood in front of the camera and said what was on my mind. I wanted to continue the conversation that I started a zillion years ago with everyone,” he told the outlet.
The 50-year-old is now living “technically off-grid" in the mountains of Catskills and is now making rounds again for his TikTok videos. His content has a similar treatment as the kids’ show, though he asks for life updates from his viewers instead of seeking help in finding clues.
Other than TikTok, Steve shared he is also working behind the scenes on TV, including writing and singing the theme song for Young Sheldon. He is also visiting universities to talk about mental health and is planning to launch a podcast soon.
After his departure, Donovan Patton, or “Joe,” hosted the show from 2002 and 2006. A reboot of the series, Blue's Clues & You!, premiered in 2019 and is now being hosted by Josh Dela Cruz.