By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: (Presley Ann/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
TV comedy director James Burrows has passed away at the age of 85. His body of work goes back to the 1970s.
Burrows is responsible for directing many iconic sitcoms, including Taxi, Cheers, Friends, Frasier, Will & Grace, and The Big Bang Theory. Burrows is highly respected and beloved for his wisdom and artistic approach to getting the best performances out of his actors. Burrows was stern but made it easy for people to come to him. There’s a reason he worked in the industry for so long.
Cheers is one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time. Burrows co-created the show with the Charles brothers, and it ran for 11 seasons on NBC. The series received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series in each of the 11 seasons. We will never forget the iconic theme song, “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” by Gary Portnoy and the cast of characters on the show.
Sam and Diane’s chemistry was the driving force that carried the show for the first five seasons. Burrows and the Charles brothers did an amazing job of making that adjustment, as well as adding actors in future seasons such as Kirstie Alley and Woody Harrelson.
Burrows received the ultimate achievement and recognition when many of his peers were in attendance in the NBC special, Must See TV: An All-Star Tribute to James Burrows. Under Burrows directing leadership, there have been many rewrites and many television pilots. Other shows he directed were The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Bob Newhart Show.
We also had to mention that, as an executive producer, he worked on shows like All in the Family and The Jeffersons. Burrows had won five Directors Guild of America awards. Burrows has done it all. It’s a blessing to have lived a long life, achieved massive success, and influenced actors to get their hands on directing behind the camera.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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