Bill Burnett is an American writer, composer, television producer, singer-songwriter, and actor who is best known for co-creating
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
's ''
ChalkZone
''ChalkZone'' is an American animated television series created by Bill Burnett and Larry Huber for Nickelodeon. The series follows Rudy Tabootie, an elementary school student who discovers a box of magic chalk that allows him to draw portals ...
'' along with
Larry Huber
Lawrence "Larry" Huber (born May 6, 1946) is an American television producer, writer, and animator who is known for his long history as a producer at Hanna-Barbera, Ruby-Spears, and Nickelodeon. Huber began his animation career in 1969 while worki ...
. He is also an accomplished singer/songwriter and the leader of the LA-based band The Backboners. He currently resides in Los Angeles.
Career
Burnett's earliest career success was working with
Patti LuPone
Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in musical theater. She has won three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fa ...
and a dozen other significant Broadway talents in 1984 on "Hip Pocket Musicals", the pilot for a series of short musicals produced for
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
. He also starred as political folksinger
Phil Ochs
Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter and protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer). Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, political activism, often alliterative lyrics, and ...
in a play (''Small Circle of Friends'') and later a film (''
Chords of Fame
''Chords Of Fame'' is a two-LP compilation from American folk singer Phil Ochs, compiled by his brother Michael Ochs shortly after Phil's death and released in 1976 on A&M Records. With the exception of 1969's ''Rehearsals for Retirement'', all ...
'') which featured a veritable who's who of 60s activists and protest singers. Lupone also covered "I Regret Everything", a cheeky send-up of Edith Piaf's classic "Je Ne Regret Rien", penned by Burnett and his Hip Pocket writing mate Peggy Sarlin. The song has been covered by over 60 performers around the globe, most notably
Bette Midler
Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...
. Burnett refers to "I Regret Everything" as "the world's most obscure hit".
![Backboners-MichellePhilips](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Backboners-MichellePhilips.jpg)
Burnett’s career as a singer/songwriter first took off when he and then-wife
Suzy Williams
Susan Dimiti "Suzy" Williams is an American singer-songwriter. She rose to notoriety in the musical duo Stormin’ Norman & Suzy. Williams has performed at venues ranging from Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to the Hotel Palmas in the Canary Is ...
formed a duo as The Boners in 1986 and performed regularly at Heather Woodbury's Cafe Bustelo in New York City. They also played with
They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a d ...
in
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a Neighborhoods in Brooklyn, neighborhood in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Bedford–Stuyvesant to the s ...
, New York City.
Suzy and Burnett's witty melodic neo-cabaret folk-rock style culminated in “Our Show” held at the West Beth Theater. Their radio show for kids “The Flying Kitchen” aired in New York City.
They toured with
James Sewall
James Sewall (1778-1842) was a U.S. officer in the War of 1812, public servant, and early railroad executive.
Family
Sewall was the scion of a prominent Maryland family. His great-great-grandfather was Henry Sewall, who immigrated to St. Mary's ...
and Sally Rousse in The New York Song and Dance Ensemble, performing at
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...
. They have played the Sweet Chariot Music and Arts Festival in
Swans Island, Maine every year since 1986. In 2004 Burnett and now-ex-wife Williams joined up with married couple Ginger Smith and Kahlil Sabbagh to expand The Boners into The Backboners, with four-part harmonies reminiscent of
The Mamas & the Papas
The Mamas & the Papas were a folk rock vocal group formed in Los Angeles, California, which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group consisted of Am ...
.
Burnett's creative life expanded when he met
Fred Seibert
Frederick (Fred) Seibert (born September 15, 1951) is an American television producer, co-founder of MTV and the CEO of FredFilms, an animation production company based in Burbank, California. His official biography states he has led five (working ...
and
Alan Goodman
Alan Goodman runs branding and communications for, and is a founder of, TESTD Inc., a company that builds health and wellness data management products for providers, individuals, enterprises, and municipalities. He is a former American media e ...
at their irreverent advertising agency/marketing think tank, Fred/Alan, Inc. Starting as a freelance writer for the agency, he later became Creative Director, generating groundbreaking satirical campaigns for
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
,
Nick-at-Nite
Nick at Nite (stylized as nick@nite) is an American nighttime basic cable television channel that broadcasts over the channel space of Nickelodeon. It typically broadcasts Mondays to Thursday nights from 9 p.m. - 6:30 a.m. ET/ PT, Friday nights f ...
,
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
. and
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...
. Burnett came up with the name Comedy Central and wrote its original branding document.
Burnett followed Fred Seibert to Hollywood to become VP Creative Director of
Hanna-Barbera Cartoons
Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...
, the venerable Hollywood studio. There he created campaigns in support of such breakthrough TV animation hits as Dexter's Lab, Powerpuff Girls and Courage the Cowardly Dog. He wrote the theme song and three special songs for
Cave Kids
''Cave Kids'' (also known as ''Cave Kids Adventures'' or ''Cave Kids: Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm'') is an American animated children's television series produced by Hanna-Barbera, and a spin-off of ''The Flintstones''. The show aired in syndication on ...
'','' the series created for
Flintstones
''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbor ...
kids
Pebbles and
Bamm-Bamm
Bamm-Bamm Rubble (sometimes spelled Bam-Bam Rubble) is a fictional character in the ''Flintstones'' franchise, the adopted son of Barney and Betty Rubble. He is most famous in his infant form on the animated series, but has also appeared at var ...
. He went on to become Head Writer/Story Editor for
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...
's ''
Cow and Chicken
''Cow and Chicken'' is an American animated comedy television series created by David Feiss for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. It is the third of the network's Cartoon Cartoons. It follows the su ...
''. He wrote stories and songs for the show, notably the musical two-part episode "The Ugliest Weenie", and has the dubious distinction of writing the only ''Cow and Chicken'' episode to be banned from regular network play,
"Buffalo Gals".
Following Seibert to Nickelodeon, Burnett became a Creative Producer on the new anthology series ''
Oh Yeah! Cartoons
''Oh Yeah! Cartoons'' is an American animated anthology series that aired on Nickelodeon. Created by Fred Seibert, it was produced by Frederator Incorporated and Nickelodeon Animation Studio, running as part of Nickelodeon's Nicktoons lineup. In t ...
''. He wrote the show's theme song and wrote and produced,
over ten animated shorts. Most notably, he and veteran animator
Larry Huber
Lawrence "Larry" Huber (born May 6, 1946) is an American television producer, writer, and animator who is known for his long history as a producer at Hanna-Barbera, Ruby-Spears, and Nickelodeon. Huber began his animation career in 1969 while worki ...
co-created ''
ChalkZone
''ChalkZone'' is an American animated television series created by Bill Burnett and Larry Huber for Nickelodeon. The series follows Rudy Tabootie, an elementary school student who discovers a box of magic chalk that allows him to draw portals ...
'' in 2002, based on Burnett's idea about an alternative world behind the chalk board. The show's premiere received the highest ratings for a new show premiere in the network's history at the time, and continued for five years with high ratings and a passionate following. Other shows Burnett created or co-created for ''Oh Yeah'' included "Hobart" and "Jelly's Day" (with Greg Emison), "Tutu the Superina" (with prima ballerina Sally Rousse), "What Is Funny?" (with Vince Waller) and "The Feelers". Burnett wrote all of the stories and musical numbers and provided singing and acting voices on many episodes. During this time, he also wrote the script, music and lyrics for ''
The Electric Piper
The Pied Piper of Hamelin has appeared many times in popular culture.
Direct adaptations
Many of the direct adaptations of the story are based on the poem "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" by English poet Robert Browning, first published in the 1842 col ...
'', a feature-length animated reimagining of the classic Pied Piper tale commissioned by Nickelodeon.
In 2005, Burnett returned to Nickelodeon for the ''Oh Yeah!'' spinoff ''
Random! Cartoons
''Random! Cartoons'' is an American animated anthology series that aired on Nicktoons. Much like ''Oh Yeah! Cartoons'', it was created by Fred Seibert and produced by Frederator Incorporated and Nickelodeon Animation Studio. It premiered on Decemb ...
'' working with the ''Oh Yeah!'' team creating the short "Dr. Froyd's Funny Farm" with
Jaime Diaz
The Boston Ballet is an American professional classical ballet company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams and Sydney Leonard, and was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. I ...
. He composed the scores for two other shorts: "Hornswiggle" (created by
Jerry Beck
Jerry Beck (born February 9, 1955, in New York City) is an American animation historian, author, blogger, and video producer.
Beck wrote or edited several books on classic American animation and classic characters, including ''The 50 Greatest C ...
) and the non-Random! Cartoons short "Gaucho Pampa" (also created by Diaz and produced by Huber).
Since leaving Nickelodeon, Burnett has written for the PBS/Universal production ''
Curious George
Curious George is a fictional monkey who is the title character of a series of popular children's picture books written by Margret and H. A. Rey. Various media, including films and TV shows, have been based upon the original book series.
Geor ...
'' (for which he received an Emmy citation), ''
Danger Rangers
''Danger Rangers'' is an American animated television series that aired on PBS Kids and Cookie Jar TV from September 5, 2005 to December 26, 2006.
Plot
The Danger Rangers are a team of anthropomorphic heroes who teach children about safety thro ...
'', ''Guardians of the Power Masks'', ''
Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Studios between 1940 and 1972.
Woody, an anthropomorphic woodpecker, was created in 1940 by Lan ...
'', ''
Casper
Casper may refer to:
People
* Casper (given name)
* Casper (surname)
* Casper (Maya ruler) (422–487?), ruler of the Mayan city of Palenque
* Tok Casper, first known king of Maya city-state Quiriguá in Guatemala, ruling beginning in 426
* David ...
'', and a web series featuring singing dolls.
Burnett is currently working on new animated shows that he is pitching to new content providers including
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
,
Bardel Entertainment
Bardel Entertainment, Inc. is a Canadian animation studio founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1987. The studio's name comes from its founders, Barry Ward and his wife Delna Bhesania.
Bardel is involved in the acquisition, development ...
and Russell Hicks' Curiosity Ink. He is also writing Broadway-friendly musicals, songs, and books for all ages.
References
External links
Official web site*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnett, Bill
American male singer-songwriters
Writers from Los Angeles
Singers from Los Angeles
American male composers
21st-century American composers
Living people
Television producers from California
American television writers
Place of birth missing (living people)
Year of birth missing (living people)
American male television writers
American male voice actors
American voice directors
American television directors
Screenwriters from California
21st-century American male musicians
Nickelodeon Animation Studio people
Showrunners
Singer-songwriters from California