Currently, James
Burrows is splitting his directing duties between two of NBC's
half hour comedies, "Frasier", (Tuesdays at 9 p.m.)
and "Friends" (Thurdsay 8:00 p.m.). Frasier was named
Best Comedy Series in the recent Emmy's .
Career History & Recognition
Burrows learned his
trade from the very best, his father, the legendary
writer/director
Abe Burrows, whose noted career included such classics as
"Guys
and Dolls", "How to Succeed In Business Without Really
Trying" and "Cactus Flower". Most recently Burrows
won the best director Emmy for the pilot of "Frasier".
But Jimmy is probably best known as co-creator, executive
producer
and director of "Cheers." The eleven season mega-hit
is the most nominated series in the Television Academy's history
and in 2nd place for most Emmy wins (26). Burrows has won nine
Emmys himself (five for directing) and is a three time Directors'
Guild of America winner for best director of a comedy series.
There are numerous awards as well for his work on
"Taxi",
"Wings", "Night Court" and "Dear
John".
Personal History
Born in Los Angeles and raised in New York, James Burrows
graduated
from Oberlin College and continued his education at Yale, where
he graduated in 1965 with a Masters Degree in Fine Arts. Moving
to Hollywood, Burrows worked for a short time as a dialogue coach
for "O.K. Crackerby!", a short-lived television series
which starred Burl Ives. When the show ended he returned to New
York where he worked as a stage manager.
Ultimately, he directed
several off Broadway shows including, "The Castro
Complex",
in addition to stock productions of "The Odd Couple"
and "Never Too Late". In 1974, Burrows moved back to
the West Coast when he was invited to visit MTM Productions in
Los Angeles and was offered a job directing an episode of
"The
Mary Tyler Moore Show".
He hasn't stopped since.
He now
resides
in Los Angeles. He has three daughters.
