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A beloved actor from a children’s television show visited North Carolina — and delighted a new generation of kids.
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Steve Burns — who played Steve in the problem-solving series “Blue’s Clues” — wore his signature striped shirt as he delivered toys to children at a Raleigh hospital Friday, July 24.
“Many of us grew up with Steve, giving us a safe space and gentle reassurance,” Kristin Kelly, a spokesperson for WakeMed Health & Hospitals, told The N&O in a Monday, July 27 email. “Needless to say, his visit brought just as much joy (and nostalgia) to parents and staff as it did to our young patients.”
It’s no surprise that the visit to WakeMed Children’s Hospital resonated with parents. Burns hosted “Blues Clues” from 1996 to 2002, so the young children who once watched him on TV are now in their 20s and 30s.
After Burns left the show, speculation lingered about his whereabouts for years. Then in 2021, he appeared in a social media video, reassuring thousands of millennials that he was alive and well.
This month, Burns was scheduled to appear at GalaxyCon in Raleigh. While in town, he wanted to cheer up hospital patients and their families through the Starlight Children’s Foundation.
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“The kids don’t always know so much who I am, or if they do, they certainly don’t recognize me instantly,” Burns said in a video clip WakeMed shared with The N&O. “But I’m here for the parents. I always come to these things thinking: ‘You gotta help the people who are helping. You gotta care for the caregivers.’”
Photos shared with The N&O show the actor standing at children’s bedsides and posing for pictures. And of course, he held a stuffed animal depicting Blue, the show’s title character.
“In addition to toys, Steve Burns and the Starlight Foundation provided 50 journals and 50 decks of playing cards as well as adult coloring books to support the parents and guardians of the patients,” Kelly said. “Steve wanted to ensure that parents and guardians felt just as supported with distraction resources and games.”
Representatives for Burns didn’t respond to The N&O’s requests for additional information on Monday, July 27.
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