You don’t have to be a pretentious film major to name 10 movie directors. However, the appointment of a television director is not so simple. They are the unsung heroes of your favorite shows, and the late James Burrows of TV director. Although he passed away on June 19th, his DNA lives on throughout television history.
He has directed over 1200 television episodes and over 50 pilots. He co-created “Cheers” and directed many episodes of long-running series such as “Friends,” “Taxi,” “Frasier,” “The Big Bang Theory” and “Two and a Half Men.” You may also remember him playing a grown-up version of himself in the Lisa Kudrow comedy The Comeback.
He left an indelible mark on the LGBTQ community. Like last year, he directed the “Mid-Century Modern” series starring Nathan Lane, Matt Bomer and Linda Lavin. He was also the longtime director of “Will & Grace,” directing every episode of the series’ revival. He also directed the unaired “Absolutely Fabulous” pilot with Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Johnston and Zosia Mamet.
Not to mention, he’s worked with queer icons throughout history, including Betty White and Stockard Channing on the single-season series and Jennifer Coolidge on 2 Broke Girls.
He began his career on shows such as “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Rhoda,” “Laverne & Shirley” and the first four seasons of “Taxi.”
He continued to work steadily, directing successful pilots that were turned into series for “Rock,” “Third Rock from the Sun,” “Dharma & Greg,” and “Wings.” He directed multiple episodes of “Friends,” “Caroline in the City,” and “Frasier.”
This magic continued into the 2000s, when he directed multiple episodes of “Two and a Half Men,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Mike & Molly,” and the entire return series pilot of “Will & Grace.”
What was the secret of his success? He will institute a “fun clause” in the contract. In his words: “Life is too short to deal with unpleasant leads.” share. “So as long as the script is good and the cast is fun, I’m going to enjoy the experience.”
He has a magical talent and has turned multiple pilots into long-running series. He was nominated for an Emmy Award 24 times in 26 years and continued to work consistently until a year before his death.
The secret was in the way he assembled the cast. “It was my job to mold them into an ensemble, and they really came together as a group of people who loved each other,” he explains.
This earned him 11 Emmy Awards and five Directors Guild of America Awards, including the inaugural DGA Lifetime Achievement Award in Television Directing.
In a 2003 interview with the Television Academy, when asked how he would like to be remembered, he replied, “Every night for eternity, somewhere, you tune in and the show that I did is on the air.”
He is survived by his wife Debbie, four daughters, seven grandchildren, and countless people whose careers he launched and countless viewers he inspired with his television legacy.
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