What a legacy it is. Just a couple of months ago, James Burrows appeared on *The Comeback*, telling Lisa Kudrow’s character about the importance of using human writers to make great television as opposed to AI. Jimmy said those broken, beautiful souls are what make something great. It was art imitating life because for more than 50 years, Burrows himself made something great, directing more than 1,000 episodes of television.
He was born in Los Angeles in 1940 and was working as a stage manager at a theater in the 60s when he met Mary Tyler Moore, who would give him his first directing job on *The Mary Tyler Moore Show* just a few years later. Burrows became the golden guy when it came to half-hour sitcoms, co-creating *Cheers*, directing all 246 episodes of *Will & Grace*, and directing the pilots—those all-important make-or-break episodes—of huge hits like *Friends*, *Taxi*, *Frasier*, and *The Big Bang Theory*, to name just a few.
Burrows was nominated for more than 40 Emmy awards, won 11 of them, and was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Director’s Guild of America. When he was asked how he’d like to be remembered, he said that every night forever, you can tune in somewhere and there will be a show he did playing. He easily achieved that goal.
James Burrows is survived by his beloved wife Debbie, his four daughters, and seven grandchildren. His family said in a statement, “Beyond his remarkable achievements, Burrows will be remembered for something even greater: his kindness, generosity, and unwavering belief in the people around him.” He possessed a rare ability to make everyone better and was known for remembering every person he met by name, making colleagues at every level feel seen, valued, and appreciated. It is hard to put into context just what an impact he’s had. If they were calling you to make the sitcom pilot for *Friends*, *Frasier*, *Taxi*, or *Big Bang*, that is how you know you had a thousand episodes. That’s really remarkable.
