To call James Burrows a giant of modern television is not hyperbole. If you love sitcoms, know that Burrows, who died Friday, June 19, at the age of 85, planted many seeds of that affection. The 11-time Emmy winner’s fingerprints are visible all over the genre, starting with his name in the credits of numerous half-hours we consider to be timeless, bar-setting classics – including “Cheers,” which he co-created with Glen and Les Charles.
But he also lent his creativity and spirit to its spinoff “Frasier,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “The Bob Newhart Show.” And “Will & Grace,” for which he directed every single episode. And both versions of the pilot for “The Big Bang Theory.”
Burrows also directed 15 episodes of “Friends,” including some of its best-loved, such as “The One Where Ross and Rachel Take a Break” and “The One with the Prom Video.” If you have watched any of these — if they comforted you on your worst days and made good ones better — Burrows had a hand in making your life funnier.
With a career spanning 50 years and directing more than 1,000 episodes of television, Burrows raised several generations of viewers, TV writers, actors and producers with his version of the multi-camera sitcom. He changed the way we watch TV comedies both logistically and spiritually, although it’s the latter that defines him in the audience’s hearts and memories.
“Taxi” stars Danny DeVito, Andy Kaufman and Christopher Lloyd, and “Cheers” stars Shelley Long, Woody Harrelson, Kelsey Grammer and Ted Danson are familiar to us because of Burrows’ work. He made Danson’s Sam Malone and Long’s Diane Chambers part of our cultural lexicon by styling them as the ultimate will-they-or-won’t-they couple. And in our age of name-brand comedy showrunners, Burrows is one of a select few who paved a path for the likes of Bill Lawrence, Mike Schur and Tina Fey.
What made his episodes shine, though, is that he believed the best TV comedy is a team effort. Burrows modeled the notion of directing as a duty to truly bring a show’s cast and writing into people’s living rooms and lives, epitomizing the idea that laughter narrows the distance between strangers.
That may not necessarily be unique in the broadest span of TV history, but it’s rare enough for the layperson to recognize the difference between a James Burrows show and those of other directors.
“An artist works their entire career and life improving their instrument,” he wrote in his 2022 memoir, “Directed by James Burrows.” “A director works at improving other artists’ instruments, as well as their own.”
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Born on Dec. 30, 1940, to Ruth and Abe Burrows, a humorist and librettist who co-wrote the books to such musicals as “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” and “Guys and Dolls,” Burrows was raised in New York, where the family moved when he was 5 years old. He returned to California after attending the Yale School of Drama’s graduate program. In 1967, he met Mary Tyler Moore while serving as an assistant stage manager for a production of “Holly Golightly,” which turned out to be a flop.
By then, Moore’s starring role in “The Dick Van Dyke Show” was already leading to greater things, including founding MTM Enterprises with then-husband Grant Tinker. In addition to hiring Burrows to direct episodes of MTM productions such as “Mary Tyler Moore” and “The Bob Newhart Show,” he also introduced Burrows to legendary director Jay Sandrich, who went on to direct the first two seasons and series finale of “The Cosby Show.”
It was from Sandrich that Burrows learned how to include the writers and actors in a collaborative process to polish each punchline and scene, moment by moment. But as he told Jimmy Kimmel in 2022, he learned how to balance timing and tone from watching his father, who taught him to close his eyes and listen before even blocking a scene.
“You know, comedy is all about rhythm,” Burrows said on that episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” “My father was a playwright and director on Broadway and . . . when he was directing a straight play, he would walk behind the scenery and he’d listen. And if he heard a pause, he knew nobody was dancing, so he was in trouble. It’s important to hear the rhythms. That’s what I listen for.”
He added, “I work through kindness, and I work like . . . anybody can say anything they want about the show, and to me, if I direct you to do this, and you don’t like it, tell me. And if you do something, if you suggest something, and I don’t think it’s right, I’ll tell you.”
This is also why many of the most ambitious series launched on the strength of a pilot he directed. “Friends” was one of them, and as Burrows once told the Hollywood Reporter, he battled to retain a key event for Courteney Cox’s Monica Geller in that episode.
“I try to protect the writer’s point of view with the network because the networks tend to try to homogenize stuff and make it like they’ve seen before and what’s on,” he said, and went on to explain that NBC did not want Cox to go to bed with Paul, the wine guy. “They wanted her to kiss him. I said to them, there are no stakes unless she goes to bed with him because she’s got to find out somebody else went to bed with him.”
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Burrows worked until the very end of his life, scoring the last of his 47 Emmy nominations in 2025 for directing the “Mid-Century Modern” episode titled “Here’s To You, Mrs. Schneiderman.” He lost that night to Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, co-creators of “The Studio,” who co-directed “The Oner.”
Burrows’ family released a public statement upon his death:
“We celebrate the extraordinary life and enduring legacy of James ‘Jimmy’ Burrows, who passed away peacefully today surrounded by his loving family. For more than five decades, Burrows was one of the most influential and beloved directors in television history. As a legendary director, mentor, and creative force, he helped shape generations of comedy and brought immeasurable joy to audiences around the world.”
One achievement that nobody can take away from his legacy, however, is his hand in creating one of the most welcoming spaces in TV history: the Boston bar where everybody knows your name. The Los Angeles Times reported that 1993 series finale of “Cheers” — which Burrows directed, of course — drew an estimated at 93 million people, according to NBC, making it the second most-watched program in TV history at the time. Only the final episode of “MASH,” which aired in 1983, pulled a larger viewership with an estimated 121.6 million.
“People hated us, though,” Burrows told Kimmel. “When you end a sitcom, you take away someone’s pacifier.” The same can be said about losing a prolific and empathetic talent like him.
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The post James Burrows, legendary sitcom director, dies at 85 appeared first on Salon.com.
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