‘Blue’s Clues’ Star Steve Burns Delivers Nostalgic Graduation Speech

Steve Burns, the “authentic gangster host” of the wildly common kids’s tv present, “Blue’s Clues” shared his phrases of knowledge, with plenty of humor thrown in, throughout SUNY Delhi’s graduation speech over the weekend.

Regardless of the drizzling rain on the outside commencement, Burns had the gang—a lot of whom probably grew up watching “Blue’s Clues”—laughing and having fun with their closing faculty expertise earlier than receiving their levels.

Final weekend, the graduates at SUNY Delhi bought the chance to listen to somebody they probably grew up watching on tv give their graduation speech. Full of humor and light-weight moments, Burns helped to ship the brand new graduates off into the world with some laughs and inspiration.

“I am Steve Burns and I’ve completely been your neighbor for 4 years,” he mentioned. “You will have seen me round city, perhaps on the Value Chopper or one thing, but when you already know me in any respect, you most likely simply know me as Steve, with one identify and no final identify, like Beyoncé.”

He continued to offer some background on who he’s and the way the graduates probably know him.

“You see, 45 million years in the past, I used to be the unique gangster host of the youngsters’s tv present on Nickelodeon referred to as ‘Blue’s Clues,” he mentioned as everybody applauded. “I am hoping most of you’re aware of that present in any other case that is only a graduation speech from some dude who you watched by a pair of socks at Tractor Provide.”

Assuming there was somebody within the crowd unfamiliar with the favored kids’s present, Burns gave some background.

“‘Blue’s Clues’ was a extremely, actually, form of bizarre kids’s tv present whereby I used to be the one alive human a part of a wholly animated world. I wore the identical dangerous outfit on a regular basis and was usually very good and really enthusiastic about completely every thing,” he mentioned.

“I frolicked with an animated puzzle-solving pet who was blue and likewise named Blue, which is why the present was referred to as ‘Blue’s Clues.’  I had significant conversations with my condiments, I sang songs with a bar of cleaning soap, and when the mail confirmed up, dude, I freaked out. I went loopy, I sang songs and jumped into the air.”

He then mentioned that his fundamental job was to search for clues to mysteries that “had been painfully apparent to everybody however me.”

“And that is the place you got here in, my pal,” he continued. “In each episode, I would want your assist and so I might stand in entrance of the digicam and look into the lens as if I used to be trying proper at you, my journey or die, and I might ask, ‘Will you assist me?’ And also you at all times did, fortunately, as a result of I by no means would have discovered any of these clues with out you.”

Burns then advised the gang that even now, years after he left the hit present as their first host, folks nonetheless method him to inform him how a lot the present meant to them rising up. He mentioned folks even sing the present’s songs to him.

“And so they inform me about their favourite episode. And fairly often, somebody will repeat to me a phrase that I mentioned on a regular basis on each episode,” he continued. “And that is, ‘When you use your thoughts and take a step at a time, you are able to do something that you just wanna do.'”

Burns mentioned that the goal demographic of the present, preschool-age kids, is a “very literal group of individuals” and that message used to concern him a bit. The instance he gave was a bit of fan mail he as soon as acquired.

“Expensive Steve, I really like your present. I need to be a pizza. Love, Brian,” he shared. “And because the years handed, I’ve typically considered Brian, nervous that he is lived his life based on my recommendation in pursuit of the dream of truly turning into a bit of pizza. And I’m wondering if Brian is on the market someplace deeply upset, lined in marinara sauce. And I hope that he is not.”

Burns hopes that Brian understood, simply because the graduates have, that the message was not alleged to be taken actually, however quite meant to be “an empowering reminder of the facility of laborious work” and an “empowering reminder of the significance of getting a dream.”

Just a few days earlier than the ceremony, SUNY Delhi introduced on social media that Burns could be the keynote speaker for his or her commencement. Additionally they introduced it on their web site.

“SUNY Delhi’s 107th annual graduation can be held on Saturday, Might 18, to acknowledge roughly 800 graduates receiving grasp’s, bachelor’s, and affiliate levels and certificates in Fall 2023 and Spring 2024,” the web site reads.

“This yr’s keynote tackle can be delivered by Steve Burns, an Emmy-nominated actor finest identified for his position as Steve in Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues and the Paramount+ characteristic movie Blue’s Large Metropolis Journey. Burns can be a critically acclaimed musician.”

On Instagram, the faculty shared extra info, together with that Burns lives within the space.

“Steve has discovered a house proper right here in Delhi, NY, the place he continues his decades-long profession as a voiceover artist when he’s not writing and directing for the present ‘Blue’s Clues’ and ‘You,'” they wrote within the caption of the submit.

The remark part stuffed up with pleasure over the “authentic gangster host” delivering the graduation speech.

“That is so epic,” one individual wrote. One other mentioned, “My childhood is full!!”

Whereas Burns was a visitor at Indiana Comedian-Con in March, he had a second with the fan who really helped him rating the coveted position as Steve in “Blue’s Clues.” This opportunity assembly was the chance to lastly thank the kid who helped seal the deal for him to be Blue’s finest pal greater than 20 years in the past.

Astraea, the kid who helped Burns develop into a family identify, was simply 3 years outdated on the time. Now, greater than 20 years later, she lastly bought the possibility to inform her story. She shared a TikTok video after assembly Burns with the backstory.

“Again within the early 90s, my mother labored for MTV and Nickelodeon, working particularly within the advertising division,” she mentioned. “Basically how this all went down was that an electronic mail blast went out to the entire firm.”

The e-mail defined how a brand new present was about to begin however the community wanted assist selecting the host they usually needed to try this with a spotlight group of youngsters. She ended up being a part of that group and finally selected Burns for the position.

“I really feel so honored that by pure accident, coincidence, no matter was on the market within the universe that put me in there, I really feel honored to know that my enthusiasm and pleasure and laughter that Steve gave to me in that focus group was the snowball impact that gave him such a tremendous profession,” she mentioned.

“And made so many different children study and snicker and have somebody to look as much as.”