James Burrows
Encyclopedia
James Edward Burrows is an American television director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...

 who has been working in television since the 1970s.

Biography

Burrows was born in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, the son of Ruth Levinson and Abe Burrows
Abe Burrows
Abe Burrows was a Tony and Pulitzer-winning American humorist, author, and director for radio and the stage.-Early years:...

, who was a well-known composer, director and writer. Burrows is a graduate of Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...

. He also went to the Yale School of Drama
Yale School of Drama
The Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design , directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theater...

.

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 American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...

    , The Bob Newhart Show
    The Bob Newhart Show
    The Bob Newhart Show is an American situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired 142 original episodes on CBS from September 16, , to April 1, . Comedian Bob Newhart portrayed a psychologist having to deal with his patients and fellow office workers...

    , Rhoda
    Rhoda
    Rhoda is an American television sitcom, starring Valerie Harper, which ran for five seasons, from 1974 to 1978 airing in 109 episodes. The show was a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which Harper between the years 1970 and 1974 had played the role of Rhoda Morgenstern, a spunky,...

    , Laverne & Shirley
    Laverne & Shirley
    Laverne & Shirley is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from January 26, 1976, to May 10, 1983...

    , Taxi
    Taxi (TV series)
    Taxi was an American sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. The series, which won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for "Outstanding Comedy Series", focuses on the everyday lives of a handful of New York City taxi drivers and their abusive dispatcher...

    , The Associates
    The Associates (U.S. TV series)
    The Associates is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from 1979-1980. The series starred Martin Short and was cancelled after nine of its thirteen episodes aired, but was nominated for two Golden Globes after its cancellation...

  • 1980s – Cheers
    Cheers
    Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was 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...

    , Dear John
  • 1990s – Wings, Frasier
    Frasier
    Frasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...

    , Friends
    Friends
    Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...

    , NewsRadio
    NewsRadio
    NewsRadio is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from 1995 to 1999. The series was created by executive producer Paul Simms, and was filmed in front of a studio audience at CBS Studio Center and Sunset Gower Studios...

    , 3rd Rock from the Sun
    3rd Rock from the Sun
    3rd Rock from the Sun is an American sitcom that aired from 1996 to 2001 on NBC. The show is about four extraterrestrials who are on an expedition to Earth, which they consider to be a very insignificant planet...

    , Pearl
    Pearl (TV series)
    This article is about the television series. For other uses, see Pearl .Pearl is an American situation comedy, which was broadcast by CBS as part of its 1996-97 lineup.-Plot:...

    , Dharma & Greg
    Dharma & Greg
    Dharma & Greg is an American television sitcom that aired from September 24, 1997, to April 30, 2002.It starred Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson as Dharma and Greg Montgomery, a couple who married instantly on their first date despite being complete opposites...

    , 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. The series premiered in the two-hour Thursday night block led by Friends.-Premise:Caroline Duffy is a...

    , Will & Grace
    Will & Grace
    Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...

    , George & Leo
    George & Leo
    George & Leo is a short-lived American sitcom starring Bob Newhart and Judd Hirsch. Set on Martha's Vineyard, the series aired on CBS from September 15, 1997 to March 16, 1998.-Synopsis:...

  • 2000s – The Class, Courting Alex
    Courting Alex
    Courting Alex is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from January 23, 2006 to March 29, 2006, and was a vehicle for Jenna Elfman of Dharma & Greg fame....

    , Two and a Half Men
    Two and a Half Men
    Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2003. Starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the show was originally about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother, Alan; and Alan's growing son, Jake...

    , Back to You
    Back to You
    Back to You is an American situation comedy series, which aired on Fox from September 19, 2007 to May 14, 2008. The creators and executive producers were Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, and the director was James Burrows. The series starred Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton as squabbling...

    , The Big Bang Theory
    The Big Bang Theory
    The Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom serve as executive producers on the show, along with Steven Molaro. All three also serve as head writers...

    , Gary Unmarried
    Gary Unmarried
    Gary Unmarried was an American sitcom created by Ed Yeager, which ran on CBS from September 24, 2008 to March 17, 2010. The series focuses on a recently divorced couple sharing custody of their kids while starting new relationships...

    , Hank
    Hank (2009 TV series)
    Hank is a comedy television series which ran on ABC from September 30, 2009, to November 4, 2009. The series was created by Tucker Cawley and is about a Wall Street executive who loses his job and reconnects with his small-town family...

  • 2010s – Romantically Challenged
    Romantically Challenged
    Romantically Challenged is a comedy television series, which ran on ABC from April 19, 2010 to May 17, 2010. It is set in Pittsburgh and created by Ricky Blitt, who is also the show's head writer. The show stars Alyssa Milano. ABC officially canceled the series on May 16, 2010...

    , Mike & Molly
    Mike & Molly
    Mike & Molly is an American sitcom created by Mark Roberts, which premiered on CBS on September 20, 2010. The series stars Billy Gardell and Melissa McCarthy as the title characters.-Premise:...

    , Better with You, $#*! My Dad Says, 2 Broke Girls
    2 Broke Girls
    2 Broke Girls is an North American television comedy series that debuted on CBS during the 2011–12 television season. The first episode aired at 9:30 pm after Two and a Half Men on September 19, 2011. Later episodes followed How I Met Your Mother on Monday nights at 8:30 pm . The series was...



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 series produced by HBO that stars actress Lisa Kudrow as sitcom actress Valerie Cherish in modern-day Los Angeles, California. It was created by Kudrow and Michael Patrick King, a former executive producer of Sex and the City...

. 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 an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...

 awards, and for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply 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 and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

 every year between 1980 and 2005, 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 Gerald Charles was born on February 18, 1943 in Las Vegas, Nevada. He attended the University of Redlands, California and earned a B.A. in English. Charles began his professional life as an advertising copywriter, but moved into television. He began his television career with his brother, Les...

 and Les Charles
Les Charles
Les Charles was born in Henderson, Nevada. He attended the University of Redlands, California and earned a B.A. in English. Charles began his professional career as a high school English teacher, but moved into television....

.

External links

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