Never forgotten
Rest in peace, James. Thank you for every character you gave us.

Film
1940 – 2026 · aged 85 · Television director, Screenwriter, Television producer
Portrait: United Press International, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Remember James
Latest: Anonymous
lit a candle 7d ago
James Edward Burrows (December 30, 1940 – June 19, 2026) was an American television director. He received numerous accolades, including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards and five Directors Guild of America Awards. He was honored with the Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 and the NBC special Must…
James Edward Burrows (December 30, 1940 – June 19, 2026) was an American television director. He received numerous accolades, including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards and five Directors Guild of America Awards. He was honored with the Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 and the NBC special Must See TV: An All-Star Tribute to James Burrows in 2016.
Burrows started his career with The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1974. Burrows directed over 50 television pilots and co-created the television series Cheers (1982–1993). He also formed 3 Sisters Entertainment, a joint venture with NBC. He is known for having directed numerous episodes of comedy shows such as The Bob Newhart Show, Taxi, Frasier, Friends, Will & Grace, and Mike & Molly.
He executive produced the Emmy Award–winning ABC specials Live in Front of a Studio Audience, including Norman Lear's "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons" in 2019, "All in the Family" and "Good Times" in 2019, and "The Facts of Life" and "Diff'rent Strokes" in 2021. He directed episodes of the revivals of the sitcoms Will & Grace (2017–2020) on NBC and Frasier (2023–2024) on Paramount+.
Biography adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Memories, thanks and farewells from the people James touched.
Rest in peace, James. Thank you for every character you gave us.
Thank you for a lifetime of it, James. Rest in peace.
I keep coming back to this page. It helps to know so many others feel the same.
Rest well, James. The work is done, and it was good.
There are people you assume will always be there. Losing James feels like losing a piece of the furniture of the world.
Same here. Exactly this.
James once said something in an interview that changed how I thought about my own work. I've never forgotten it.
My grandmother loved James. When she died we played their work at the funeral. Now they're both gone. Strange how connected it all is.
Thank you for sharing this.
James Burrows will be remembered long after the rest of us are forgotten. That's what greatness looks like.
Well put.
Lighting a candle from Mexico. James meant a great deal to a lot of us here.
Thank you for sharing this.
Some people leave a mark on the world that doesn't fade. James was one of them.
Not many people can say they made millions of strangers feel less alone. James could.
Gone too soon, even at any age. There was so much more to come.
I met James once, very briefly, and they were kind to a nervous stranger. That's what I'll remember.
This made me cry. Thank you.
339 people are remembering James here. Light a candle when words are hard. It stays here.
Be the first to give.
Same here. Exactly this.
Yes. This.