{"id":498,"date":"2026-06-20T04:16:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T04:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=498"},"modified":"2026-06-20T04:16:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T04:16:17","slug":"james-burrows-legendary-sitcom-director-dies-at-85","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=498","title":{"rendered":"James Burrows, legendary sitcom director, dies at 85"},"content":{"rendered":"
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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\u2019s 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 \u2013 including \u201cCheers,\u201d which he co-created with Glen and Les Charles.<\/p>\n

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But he also lent his creativity and spirit to its spinoff \u201cFrasier,\u201d \u201cThe Mary Tyler Moore Show\u201d and \u201cThe Bob Newhart Show.\u201d And \u201cWill & Grace,\u201d for which he directed every single episode. And both versions of the pilot for \u201cThe Big Bang Theory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burrows also directed 15 episodes of \u201cFriends,\u201d including some of its best-loved, such as \u201cThe One Where Ross and Rachel Take a Break\u201d and \u201cThe One with the Prom Video.\u201d If you have watched any of these \u2014 if they comforted you on your worst days and made good ones better \u2014 Burrows had a hand in making your life funnier.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s the latter that defines him in the audience\u2019s hearts and memories.<\/p>\n

\u201cTaxi\u201d stars Danny DeVito, Andy Kaufman and Christopher Lloyd, and \u201cCheers\u201d stars Shelley Long, Woody Harrelson, Kelsey Grammer and Ted Danson are familiar to us because of Burrows\u2019 work. He made Danson\u2019s Sam Malone and Long\u2019s Diane Chambers part of our cultural lexicon by styling them as the ultimate will-they-or-won\u2019t-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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s cast and writing into people\u2019s living rooms and lives, epitomizing the idea that laughter narrows the distance between strangers.<\/p>\n

That may not necessarily be unique in the broadest span of TV history, but it\u2019s rare enough for the layperson to recognize the difference between a James Burrows show and those of other directors.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn artist works their entire career and life improving their instrument,\u201d he wrote in his 2022 memoir, \u201cDirected by James Burrows.\u201d \u201cA director works at improving other artists\u2019 instruments, as well as their own.\u201d<\/p>\n

Born on Dec. 30,<\/span> 1940, to Ruth and Abe Burrows, a humorist and librettist who co-wrote the books to such musicals as \u201cHow to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying\u201d and \u201cGuys and Dolls,\u201d 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\u2019s graduate program. In 1967, he met Mary Tyler Moore while serving as an assistant stage manager for a production of \u201cHolly Golightly,\u201d which turned out to be a flop.<\/p>\n

By then, Moore\u2019s starring role in \u201cThe Dick Van Dyke Show\u201d 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 \u201cMary Tyler Moore\u201d and \u201cThe Bob Newhart Show,\u201d he also introduced Burrows to legendary director Jay Sandrich, who went on to direct the first two seasons and series finale of \u201cThe Cosby Show.\u201d<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n