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James Burrows



 
 
James Edward Burrows (born December 30 1940) is an American television director
Television director

A television director directs the activities involved in making a television episode....
 who has been working in television since the 1970s.

ows was born in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
, California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
, the son of Ruth Levinson and Abe Burrows
Abe Burrows

Abe Burrows was an American humorist, author, and director for radio and the stage....
, who was a well-known composer, director and writer. He is the second cousin to the contemporary artist Jordan Wolfson. Burrows is a graduate of Oberlin College
Oberlin College

Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1833 by Presbyterian ministers, and is home to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, making it the only top-ranked Liberal arts colleges in the United States with a top-ranked conservatory....
. He also went to the Yale School of Drama
Yale School of Drama

The Yale School of Drama is a Graduate school professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design , theater director, dramaturgy and Theatre criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theatre management....
.

Burrows' style is best known for his comic timing, complex blocking for actors, and incorporating more sophisticated lighting in television studio shoots.






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James Edward Burrows (born December 30 1940) is an American television director
Television director

A television director directs the activities involved in making a television episode....
 who has been working in television since the 1970s.

Biography

Burrows was born in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
, California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
, the son of Ruth Levinson and Abe Burrows
Abe Burrows

Abe Burrows was an American humorist, author, and director for radio and the stage....
, who was a well-known composer, director and writer. He is the second cousin to the contemporary artist Jordan Wolfson. Burrows is a graduate of Oberlin College
Oberlin College

Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1833 by Presbyterian ministers, and is home to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, making it the only top-ranked Liberal arts colleges in the United States with a top-ranked conservatory....
. He also went to the Yale School of Drama
Yale School of Drama

The Yale School of Drama is a Graduate school professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design , theater director, dramaturgy and Theatre criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theatre management....
.

Burrows' style is best known for his comic timing, complex blocking for actors, and incorporating more sophisticated lighting in television studio shoots. He is also credited for expanding the typical multi-camera television shoot from three to four cameras.

Burrows has directed for many shows including:

  • 1970s - The Mary Tyler Moore Show
    The Mary Tyler Moore Show

    The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an United States television Situation comedy created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from September 19, 1970 to March 19, 1977....
    , The Bob Newhart Show
    The Bob Newhart Show

    The Bob Newhart Show is the name of two different television series, both starring comedian Bob Newhart. The better-known is a situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired on CBS from September 16, to April 1, ....
    , Rhoda
    Rhoda

    Rhoda is an United States Situation comedy starring Valerie Harper. It was a list of television spin-offs from The Mary Tyler Moore Show and ran for five seasons between 1974-1978....
    , Laverne & Shirley
    Laverne & Shirley

    Laverne & Shirley was an United States television series situation comedy that ran on American Broadcasting Company from 1976 to 1983. It starred Penny Marshall as Laverne De Fazio and Cindy Williams as Shirley Feeney, roommates who, as the series began, worked in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin brewery....
    , Taxi
    Taxi (TV series)

    Taxi is an United States Situation comedy that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on American Broadcasting Company, and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC....
  • 1980s - Cheers
    Cheers

    Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for eleven seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association with Paramount Television for NBC, having been created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles....
     (which he also co-created), The Hogan Family
    The Hogan Family

    The Hogan Family is an American television situation comedy that aired from March 1, 1986 to July 20, 1991. It was produced by Miller-Boyett Productions....
  • 1990s - Wings
    Wings (TV series)

    Wings is an United States sitcom that ran on NBC from April 19, 1990 to May 14, 1997. Starring Timothy Daly and Steven Weber as brothers Joe and Brian Hackett, the show was set at the fictional Tom Nevers Field, a small airport in Nantucket, Massachusetts, where the Hackett brothers operated Sandpiper Airlines....
    , Frasier
    Frasier

    Frasier is an American situation comedy broadcast on National Broadcasting Company for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993 to May 13, 2004....
    , Friends
    Friends

    Friends is an American situation comedy created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which premiered on NBC on September 22, 1994. The series revolves around a group of friends in the area of Manhattan, New York City, who occasionally live together and share living expenses....
    , NewsRadio
    NewsRadio

    NewsRadio is an United States Situation comedy, originally broadcast from 1995 in television to 1999 in television on NBC.The show was created by executive producer Paul Simms and taped in front of a studio audience at CBS Studio Center....
    , Caroline in the City
    Caroline in the City

    Caroline in the City is an American Situation comedy that ran from September 21, 1995 to April 26, 1999 on the NBC television network. It starred Lea Thompson as cartoonist Caroline Duffy....
    , Will & Grace
    Will & Grace

    Will & Grace is a popular Emmy Award-winning United States television situation comedy that was originally broadcast on NBC from 1998 to 2006....
  • 2000s - The Class
    The Class

    The Class was an Emmy Award-nominated sitcom which premiered at 8:00 p.m. on CBS, and ran from September 18, 2006 to March 5, 2007. The series follows the lives of eight very different alumni of the fictitious Woodman Elementary School....
    , Two and a Half Men
    Two and a Half Men

    Two and a Half Men is an Emmy Award- and Golden Globe Award-nominated United States television Situation comedy, which premiered on CBS on Monday, September 22, 2003 at 9:30 p.m., North American Eastern Time Zone/Pacific Time Zone....
    , Back to You
    Back to You

    Back to You is an United States situation comedy series created and executive produced by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan. The series was directed by James Burrows, and stars Primetime Emmy Award-winners Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton as squabbling anchors of a news program....
    , The Big Bang Theory
    The Big Bang Theory

    The Big Bang Theory is an American situation comedy created and executive produced by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, which premiered on CBS on September 24, 2007....
    , Single White Millionaire


Burrows directed all 194 episodes of the NBC sitcom Will & Grace
Will & Grace

Will & Grace is a popular Emmy Award-winning United States television situation comedy that was originally broadcast on NBC from 1998 to 2006....
, which is a directing record.

Burrows has had cameo appearances in several of the shows for which he has directed. He also appears as a television director in the 2005 HBO series The Comeback
The Comeback (TV series)

The Comeback is a Television program produced by HBO that stars actress Lisa Kudrow as sitcom actress Valerie Cherish in modern-day Los Angeles, California....
. Burrows played himself on the series. Burrows has been nominated for fifteen Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America

Directors Guild of America is the trade union which represents the interests of film director and television director directors in the United States motion picture industry....
 awards, and for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award

The Emmy Award, also known as the 'Emmy', is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards....
 every year since 1980, excluding 1997.

An episode of Scrubs, "My Life in Four Cameras", had a character named "Charles James" in honor of Cheers creators Burrows and Glen
Glen Charles

Glen Charles was born in Henderson, Nevada. He attended the University of Redlands, California and earned a Bachelor of arts in English language....
 and Les Charles
Les Charles

Les Charles was born in Henderson, Nevada. He attended the University of Redlands, California and earned a Bachelor of arts in English language....
.

External links