James Burrows, the undeniable king of multi-camera sitcom directing who had a hand in many of the biggest network shows of all time, has died at the age of 85.
“We celebrate the extraordinary life and enduring legacy of James ‘Jimmy’ Burrows, who passed away peacefully today surrounded by his loving family,” the director’s family said in a statement first shared by People. “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.”
For the entirety of his 60+ year career, the phrase “directed by James Burrows” was synonymous with TV comedy. Burrows directed the pilots (and, in most cases, many more episodes) of virtually every major multi-camera sitcom of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The son of “Guys and Dolls” and “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” librettist Abe Burrows and a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, he famously employed a directing style that saw him ignore cameras altogether and focus on treating each TV episode like a 22-minute stage play.
“I’m not a film director. The camera, I leave that to Spielberg and Scorsese,” Burrows said in a 2023 interview with IndieWire. “I’m a theatre rat. I stage a play every week, a 20 to 25 minute play and then my camera comes in and covers it. I understand characters, I understand what’s funny, I understand the essence of keeping it moving and keeping the energy going. It’s all theatrical. If it doesn’t happen on that stage, it’s never gonna happen on film. You can cut it nine ways to Sunday, but nothing will work unless it works on that stage.”
Burrows began directing for television in the mid-1970s, working on episodes of classics like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Bob Newhart Show,” and “Laverne and Shirley.” He established himself as a major pilot director with “Taxi” in 1978, before going on to direct 75 of the show’s 114 episodes. And in 1982, he ushered in one of the biggest hits of all time with “Cheers.” Burrows co-created the NBC sitcom about the eclectic regulars at a Boston bar with Glen & Les Charles, going on to direct 237 episodes of it over the next decade. It would be his only major writing credit, but he spent the rest of his life as network TV’s top comedy director.
Over the next several decades, Burrows directed pilots for “Frasier,” “Friends,” “Will & Grace,” “Wings,” “Night Court,” “NewsRadio,” “3rd Rock from the Sun,” “Two and a Half Men,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and “Mike and Molly,” among dozens of others. In the case of “Will and Grace,” he remained on board to direct the show’s entire run, including the 2010s revival.
Even as his beloved multi-camera sitcoms waned in popularity, Burrows remained active until the very end of his life. In the 2020s, he directed four episodes of the “Frasier” reboot, 10 episodes of the Nathan Lane sitcom “Midcentury Modern,” and memorably reprised his role as Jimmy the Director in Season 3 of “The Comeback,” delivering a critical monologue about the creative bankruptcy of AI that helps conclude the season.
Burrows is survived by his wife Debbie Easton and his four children.
