James Burrows, director of classic TV comedies including 'Cheers' and
'Friends,' dies at 85
[June 20, 2026]
By BETH HARRIS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — James Burrows, who helped create volumes of laughter
as director of more than a thousand episodes of such classic television
comedies as “Cheers,” “Taxi,” “Friends” and “Will and Grace,” died
Friday. He was 85.
His family confirmed his death in a statement to People, saying he
“passed away peacefully today surrounded by his family.” No location or
cause of death was provided.
Burrows spent his career behind the camera specializing in situation
comedies. Few viewers recognized him or knew his name, other than to see
it flash quickly on the screen in the opening credits. But they knew his
work.
Burrows got his start in television relatively late at age 35 in 1974,
directing episodes of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Bob Newhart
Show,” and “Laverne & Shirley.”
He cocreated “Cheers,” directing 243 of the 273 episodes, as well as all
246 episodes of “Will and Grace.”
He also helmed multiple episodes of such hits as “Frasier,” “Friends”
and “Mike & Molly” and the pilots of “Two and a Half Men” and “The Big
Bang Theory.”
Sweet spot of script, performance and chemistry
“When I direct a television show, I try to reach that sweet spot where
the best script meets the best performance and the best chemistry
between performers,” Burrows wrote in his 2022 memoir “Directed by James
Burrows.” “Hitting that exact moment, where these factors land in
combination, results in the sweetest and most enduring laugh.”
His family said, “Burrows understood that great comedy was never simply
about laughter. It was about humanity, connection, and truth. That
understanding became the foundation of a career that forever changed
television.
“But 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,” the
family statement said.
The majority of Burrows' shows aired on NBC, whose “Must See TV” slogan
promoted its Thursday night lineup in the early 1990s that included
“Friends” and “Frasier.”
“Jimmy Burrows was the man behind the curtain. He knew how to make us
laugh, what buttons to push and was the absolute master of getting the
most out of every joke,” NBC said in a statement. “His loss to the
television comedy world is immeasurable. Every time you have a smile on
your face watching ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show,’ ’Taxi, ‘Cheers,’ ‘Will &
Grace,’ ‘Friends’ and countless others, think of Jimmy and know he made
all our lives funnier.”
Following in his father's path
Born James Edward Burrows on Dec. 30, 1940, in Los Angeles, he moved to
New York when he was 5 years old. He spent five years in the
Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus until his voice started to change.
He attended LaGuardia High School of Music & Art.
His father was writer, director and producer Abe Burrows, whose Broadway
hits included “Guys and Dolls” and “Can-Can.” The elder Burrows also
mentored Larry Gelbart, future creator and producer of the TV show
“MASH.”
The younger Burrows spent hours of his youth in theaters and studios
watching his father work, dining with him at such famed New York haunts
as Sardi’s and Gallagher’s and meeting celebrities who attended his
father’s New Year’s Eve parties.
After earning a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College, Burrows attended
the graduate program of the Yale School of Drama, where his classmates
included actor-comedian Robert Klein, playwright John Guare and film
director John Badham.
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 At Yale, he was required to take
directing classes and he got hooked.
Burrows’ first sitcom experience was as Burl Ives’ dialogue coach on
“O.K. Crackerby!” which was directed by his father and ran for one
season on ABC in 1965.
From there, he was an assistant on “The Patty Duke Show.” He moved
back to New York and worked for Broadway producers Lee Guber, Frank
Ford and Shelly Gross. He first met actor Moore while working on the
Broadway production of “Holly Golightly,” an adaptation of
“Breakfast at Tiffany’s” that was directed by his father.
Burrows eventually worked as a stage manager for various road
productions, where he met such actors as Hugh O’Brien, Zsa Zsa Gabor
and Julie Harris.
Catching a break with Mary Tyler Moore
By 1974, after working in dinner theater and summer stock, he turned
on his television and saw Moore’s eponymous TV show. He wrote her a
letter asking if there was any opening “small or smaller” at her
production company that he could fill, according to his memoir.
Moore’s husband and business partner, Grant Tinker, invited Burrows
to Los Angeles to direct an episode of the comedy. He apprenticed
for MTM Enterprises, which had four sitcoms on the air at the same
time.
Burrows cited his theater background for learning how to give actors
direction and block out scenes. He’s credited for being one of the
first sitcom directors to increase the typical multicamera
television shoot from three to four cameras.
The common thread between Burrows’ shows were the bonds between
friends and unrelated families, whether it was the motley crew of
regulars meeting at the bar in “Cheers” or the drivers working
toward a better life in “Taxi” or the 20-somethings sharing the same
apartment building in “Friends.”
“The best sitcoms transcend the screen and reach out and grab the
audience by the throat and by the heart,” Burrows wrote in his
memoir.
Actors Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman worked with Burrows over 16
seasons between “Taxi” and “Cheers.”
“He was the very best at his craft. His positive spirit, boundless
energy, and tireless work defined what it takes to run a show and
keep people laughing,” they said in a statement. “He will always be
in our hearts.”
Burrows relished discovering new acting talent while directing more
than 75 pilots that were picked up as series.
“Having directed over a thousand shows means that almost any night
you can turn on your television or go online and find a show that I
directed. I’m very proud of that,” he wrote in his memoir.
In 2019, Burrows was an executive producer on live productions of
“All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons” with famous actors
re-creating episodes of those 1970s comedies.
“Jimmy was the greatest comedic television director in the history
of the medium,” his agent Rick Rosen said in a statement. “He
directed the most iconic, defining shows of generations. Always a
gentleman, it was an absolute honor to represent him.”
Burrows was married in 1997 to Debbie Easton, whom he met when she
worked as a hairstylist on “Frasier.” Daughters Kat Schatzow, Ellie
Gluck and Maggie Burrows, who followed her father into directing,
are from his first marriage to Linda Solomon, who died in 2004. His
stepdaughter Paris is from his wife’s previous marriage. He has a
sister, Laurie Burrows Grad, and seven grandchildren.
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