James Burrows, the legendary director who co-created Cheers and directed more than 1,000 episodes of the world's most beloved sitcoms – including Friends, The Big Bang Theory and Will & Grace – has died aged 85.
Attorney Tom Hoberman confirmed Burrows' death “with great sadness” to CBS News, the BBC's US partner. In a statement shared with US outlet People, his family said: “We celebrate the extraordinary life and enduring legacy of James 'Jimmy' Burrows, who passed away peacefully today surrounded by his loving family.
“James Burrows, co-creator of Cheers and director of over 1,000 TV episodes, dies aged 85.”
“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.”
Born in Los Angeles in 1940, Burrows spent much of his childhood in New York before attending the graduate programme of the Yale School of Drama, where he got his first experience of directing. After several years behind the camera, he co-created Cheers alongside brothers Glen and Les Charles. The show became a 1980s TV hit in both the US and UK.
Over a career spanning more than 50 years, Burrows won 11 Emmy Awards and five Directors Guild of America Awards, and was nominated 48 times for a Primetime Emmy. The Directors Guild of America, which awarded him a lifetime achievement award in television direction in 2015, described him as “an incredibly generous colleague” who shared his “wisdom, and warm humor with his fellow Guild members and all he worked with”.
A slew of tributes poured in from actors whose careers he shaped. Eric McCormack, who played Will in Will & Grace, said Burrows left “an incredible legacy”, writing: “The 800 lb gorilla of television comedy for fifty years, he was beloved by everyone, and has left not a mark but a footprint.”
Beth Behrs, who worked with Burrows on 2 Broke Girls, recalled a moment of doubt during rehearsals for the pilot. “We marched up to your podium like two fourth-graders called into the principal's office and asked you point-blank,” she wrote. “I'll never forget the belly laugh. 'Oh girls, of course not.'”
Lisa Kudrow – best known as Phoebe from Friends – wrote on Instagram: “Thank you Jimmy. I mean, for everything…” Burrows directed Kudrow in Friends and later played a version of himself alongside the actress in the HBO comedy The Comeback.
Jennifer Aniston, who played Rachel Green on Friends, honoured Burrows as a “father figure” alongside her former castmates, according to the Evening Standard.
A spokesperson for NBC, which aired many of Burrows' shows, said he was “the man behind the curtain”, whose loss to the television and comedy world would be felt deeply.