Steve Burns

Burns was born in Boyertown, Pennsylvania, to Joseph Burns Jr. (1938–2015) and Janet Burns (née Petaccio).

He has two sisters.

His father served in the U.S. Navy and later became the human resources director of Safeguard Business Systems.

Steven Michael Burns (born October 9, 1973) is an American actor.

He attended Boyertown Area Senior High School in Berks County, graduating in 1992.

Burns played in bands called Sudden Impact US, Nine Pound Truck, and the Ivys (which he has called a "Morrissey rip-off band") while in high school and college.

He studied theatre under an acting scholarship at DeSales University in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley, where he was discovered by an agent.

He dropped out of school and moved to New York City to become a professional actor.

He lived in a basement apartment near Times Square, finding his first success as a voice-over artist for ads and making appearances on Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order.

Burns is of part Irish and part Italian ancestry.

In 1994, Burns auditioned for Blue's Clues, thinking it was a voice-over role for a game show.

He modeled his audition performance after Christopher Walken.

He had long hair and an earring.

"I was a bit of a skate rat," he said.

Initially, the Nickelodeon executives were not supportive of Burns hosting their new show; in subsequent auditions, the show's creators requested that he dress more conservatively.

(Burns reported that the creators, in a call-back phone conversation, asked him, "Could you not look like yourself tomorrow morning?") It became apparent, however, that he was the favorite with preschool test audiences.

Executive producer and co-creator Traci Paige Johnson reported that of the 100 people they auditioned, Burns was "the realest".

As Alice Wilder, Nickelodeon's Director of Research and Development, said: "There was just something about this kid, who was fresh out of Pennsylvania, who just knew where to look in the camera to really talk to kids. He was just right."

Blue's Clues was an instant hit due to Burns's performances as much as the show's format.

He became "a superstar" among his audience and their parents, but unknown to everyone else, and enjoyed what he called being a "micro-celebrity, about as small a celebrity as you can be".

As The New York Times reported, he "developed an avid following among both preteen girls and mothers. The former send torrents of e-mail; the latter scrutinize the show with an intensity that might make even Elmo, the red Muppet, blush."

He is best known as the original host of the children's television program Blue's Clues from 1996 until 2002, for which he was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in 2001.

Burns has also done extensive voice-over work for advertising, and is currently the voice of the Snickers satisfies advertising campaign.

Burns's departure led to the resurfacing of rumors that had circulated about him since 1998, including death from a heroin overdose, being killed in a car accident, and (similar to rumors about Paul McCartney in 1966) being replaced with a look-alike.

Burns made an appearance on The Rosie O'Donnell Show to dispel these rumors, and he and co-creator Angela Santomero appeared on The Today Show to help concerned parents extinguish the fears of kids who may have heard these rumors.

Burns consulted on the casting for the revival of Blue's Clues, titled Blue's Clues & You! and hosted by Josh Dela Cruz.

In 2000, People included Burns in their annual list of America's most eligible bachelors.

According to writer Diane Tracy, Burns was "destined for the part".

Also, according to Tracy, Burns was not the typical children's television host: "There is nothing syrupy about him—his humor is sometimes borderline offbeat, but never inappropriate for preschoolers."

The show was filmed in a studio in Tribeca, Manhattan.

Burns became "very involved" with the production of Blue's Clues from the beginning.

One of the most challenging aspects of hosting the show was performing on the "blue screen" before the animation was added.

Burns called it "maddening" and likened it to "acting at the bottom of a swimming pool".

After nearly six years and nearly 100 episodes, Burns announced he was leaving Blue's Clues in January 2002 and in his final episodes, which aired as a three-part special on April 29, 2002, "Steve" introduced new host Donovan Patton as his younger brother, Joe.

According to Johnson, Burns never wanted to become a "children's host".

He loved kids, but stated, "he could not make a life-long career out of it."

Burns went on by saying, "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."

The day following the filming of his final episode for the show, he shaved his head – something that he wanted to do for several years, but the show's producers would not allow.

He explained in a 2016 interview that "a lot of the original people on the show, like the people who created it, were all moving on to other careers. It just felt like time."

In a 2022 Variety interview, Burns revealed that he suffered from clinical depression while on the show.