LOS ANGELES (AP) — James Burrows, who helped create volumes of laughs as director of more than a thousand episodes of such classic TV comedies as “Cheers,” “Taxi,” “Friends” and “Will and Grace,” died Friday. He was 85.
His family confirmed his death in a statement to People, saying he “passed away peacefully today surrounded by his family.” No location or cause of death was given.
Burrows spent his career behind the camera, specializing in situation comedies. Few viewers recognized him or knew his name, other than seeing him flashed across the screen in the opening credits. But they knew his work.
Burrows got her start in television relatively late at age 35 in 1974, hosting episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show and Laverne & Shirley.
He co-created “Cheers,” directing 243 of its 273 episodes, as well as all 246 episodes of “Will and Grace.”
He also directed numerous episodes of such hits as “Frasier,” “Friends” and “Mike & Molly” and the pilots of “Two and a Half Men” and “The Big Bang Theory.”
The sweet spot of script, performance and chemistry
“When I direct a TV show, I try to hit that sweet spot where the best script meets the best performance and the best chemistry between the performers,” Burrows wrote in his 2022 memoir Directed by James Burrows. “Hitting that exact moment, where these factors come down in combination, results in the sweetest and most lasting laugh.”
His family said: “Burrows understood that great comedy was never just about the laughs. It was about humanity, connection and truth. That understanding became the foundation of a career that changed television forever.
“But beyond his extraordinary achievements, Burrows will be remembered for something even greater: his kindness, generosity and unwavering faith in those around him. He possessed a rare ability to make everyone better and was known to remember every person he met by name, making colleagues at every level feel seen, valued and appreciated,” the family’s statement said.
Most of Burrows’ shows aired on NBC, whose “Must See TV” slogan promoted its Thursday night lineup in the early 1990s, which included “Friends” and “Frasier.”
“Jimmy Burrows was the man behind the curtain. He knew how to make us laugh, what buttons to push and was an absolute master at getting the most out of every joke,” NBC said in a statement. “His loss to the world of television comedy is immeasurable. Every time you have a smile on your face watching ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show,’ ‘Taxi,’ ‘Cheers,’ ‘Will & Grace,’ ‘Friends,’ and countless others, think of Jimmy and know that he made all of our lives funnier.”
Following his father’s path
Born James Edward Burrows on December 30, 1940, in Los Angeles, he moved to New York when he was 5 years old. He spent five years in the Children’s Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera until his voice began to change. He attended LaGuardia High School of Music and Art.
His father was writer, director and producer Abe Burrows, whose Broadway hits included “Guys and Dolls” and “Can-Can.” Elder Burrows also mentored Larry Gelbart, the future creator and producer of the television show “MASH.”
The younger Burrows spent hours of his youth in theaters and studios watching his father work, dining with him at famous New York houses such as Sardi’s and Gallagher’s, and meeting famous people who attended his father’s New Year’s parties.
After earning a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College, Burrows attended the graduate program of the Yale School of Drama, where his classmates included actor-comedian Robert Klein, playwright John Guar, and film director John Badham.
At Yale, he was asked to take directing courses, and he withdrew.
Burrows’ first sitcom experience was as Burl Ives’ dialogue coach on “OK Crackerby!” which was directed by his father and ran for one season on ABC in 1965.
From there, he was an assistant on “The Patty Duke Show.” He returned to New York and worked for Broadway producers Lee Guber, Frank Ford and Shelly Gross. He first met actor Moore while working on the Broadway production of “Holly Golightly,” an adaptation of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” that was directed by his father.
Burrows eventually worked as a stage manager for various road productions, where he met actors such as Hugh O’Brien, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Julie Harris.
Breaking up with Mary Tyler Moore
In 1974, after working in dinner theater and summer stock, he turned on his TV and saw Moore’s TV show of the same name. He wrote her a letter asking if there were any “small or smaller” openings at her production company that he could fill, according to his memoirs.
Moore’s husband and business partner, Grant Tinker, invited Burrows to Los Angeles to direct an episode of the comedy. He interned for MTM Enterprises, which had four sitcoms on the air at the same time.
Burrows cited his background in theater to learn how to direct actors and block scenes. He is credited as one of the first sitcom directors who increased the typical multi-camera TV shoot from three to four cameras.
The common denominator among Burrows’ shows was the bonds between unrelated friends and families, whether it was the usual crew of people who met at the bar in “Cheers” or the drivers working for a better life in “Taxi” or the 20-somethings sharing the same apartment building in “Friends.”
“The best sitcoms transcend the screen and reach out and grab the audience by the throat and the heart,” Burrows wrote in his memoir.
Actors Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman worked with Burrows over 16 seasons between “Taxi” and “Cheers.”
“He was the best at his craft. His positive spirit, boundless energy and tireless work defined what it takes to run a show and keep people laughing,” they said in a statement. “He will always be in our hearts.”
Burrows enjoyed discovering new acting talent while directing more than 75 pilots that were picked up as series.
“Having directed over a thousand shows means that almost every night you can turn on the television or go on the Internet and find a show that I have directed. I am very proud of that,” he wrote in his memoirs.
In 2019, Burrows was an executive producer on live productions of “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons” with celebrity actors recreating episodes of those 1970s comedies.
“Jimmy was the greatest director of comic television in the history of the medium,” his agent Rick Rosen said in a statement. “He directed the most iconic, generation-defining shows. Always a gentleman, it was an absolute honor to represent him.”
Burrows married Debbie Easton in 1997, whom he met while she was working as a stylist on “Frasier.” Daughters Kat Schatzow, Ellie Gluck and Maggie Burrows, who followed her father into directing, are from his first marriage to Linda Solomon, who died in 2004. His stepdaughter Paris is from his wife’s previous marriage. He has one sister, Laurie Burrows Grad and seven grandchildren.
By BETH HARRIS Associated Press
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