Blue’s Clues” was one of the most popular children’s shows on Nickelodeon throughout it’s decade-long run from 1996-2006 and for a majority of that time was fronted by Steve Burns.
Steve became a major celebrity among the younger crowds and was even nominated for a Daytime Emmy in 2001. In 2000, he was named one of People’s most eligible bachelors alongside George Clooney and Ben Affleck.
But in 2002, at the height of the show’s popularity, the beloved Burns abruptly left “Blues” to “go to college” in his final episode. The actor was actually 29-years-old at the time.
Rumours immediately began to swirl that Burns died of a drug overdose, was a drug addict, or was killed in a car crash.
These rumours were all proved false when Steve appeared in a Nickelodeon special - “Behind the Clues: 10 Years with Blue.”
He revealed that one of the main reasons he left the show was because he was going bald, and he didn’t want that to happen on national television in front of his young fans.
“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,” Burns, now 40, said in an interview on the Nick Jr. special.
“And it was happening … fast,” he added.
- Images: Nickelodeon/YouTube
