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Television has mislaid 1 its biggest drama names — James Burrows, nan astir dressed up multi-camera head successful nan history of nan medium, passed distant successful his slumber this morning, June 19, aft a little illness. He was 85.
His 50+-year profession will stay unmatched — some successful longevity and power arsenic he played a important domiciled successful immoderate of television’s biggest hits, including Cheers, which he besides co-created, Taxi, Friends, Frasier, Will & Grace, Two and a Half and The Big Bang Theory.
Burrows began his profession pinch The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1974 directed a slew of episodes of drama shows specified arsenic The Bob Newhart Show and Laverne & Shirley.
He went connected group nan reside and thief combine nan formed of immoderate of nan biggest bid of nan 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s by directing nan pilots of Taxi, Cheers, Frasier, Friends, Will & Grace, 3rd Rock From nan Sun, Two and a Half Men, Mike & Molly and The Big Bang Theory.
Burrows directed 246 section of Will & Grace (including nan revival), 236 section of Cheers, 75 episodes of Taxi, 49 episodes of Mike & Molly, 36 episodes of Frasier (icnluding nan revival) and 15 episodes of Friends. Burrows served arsenic executive shaper connected Cheers, Will & Grace and Mike & Molly, among galore others.
The prolific head ne'er slowed down. In 2015, Burrows marked his 1,000th section arsenic a director. He worked connected some nan Will & Grace and Frasier recent revivals and besides executive produced and directed Will & Grace creators Max Mutchnick and David Cohen’s 2025 Hulu comedy Mid-Century Modern, which landed him his 28th Emmy directing information astatine property 84 past twelvemonth and 47th overall.
Over his career, Burrows won 11 Emmy Awards, including for Outstanding Comedy Series (Cheers, Will & Grace). He besides executive produced nan ABC specials Live successful Front of a Studio Audience including Norman Lear’s “All successful nan Family” and “The Jeffersons” successful 2019 arsenic good arsenic “All successful nan Family” and “Good Times” successful 2019, and “The Facts of Life” and “Diff’rent Strokes” successful 2021, earning his last Emmy for nan erstwhile successful 2020.
