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Awards Database

7 Nominations

James Burrows

James Edward Burrows (born December 30, 1940, in Los Angeles, California, died June 19, 2026). The son of Broadway playwright and director Abe Burrows, whose credits included Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He earned his undergraduate degree from Oberlin College and his graduate degree from the Yale School of Drama, then honed his craft as a stage director before making his television debut in 1974 directing an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show for MTM Enterprises.

Burrows went on to direct more than 75 episodes of Taxi (1978–1983) and co-created — with brothers Glen and Les Charles — one of the most celebrated sitcoms in television history, Cheers (NBC, 1982–1993), directing 236 of the show’s 275 episodes and serving as executive producer throughout its eleven-season run. He subsequently directed landmark series including Frasier, Friends, Will & Grace, 3rd Rock from the Sun, The Big Bang Theory, and Mike & Molly, and executive produced the Emmy Award–winning ABC specials Live in Front of a Studio Audience (2019, 2021). Among the most prolific directors in the history of American television, Burrows surpassed 1,000 career episodes in November 2015. He directed television series that earned more than 120 Golden Globes nominations.

Burrows received 11 Primetime Emmy Awards from more than 40 nominations, five Directors Guild of America Awards, and the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award in Television Direction in 2015. He was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2006. In 2016, NBC honored his milestone 1,000th episode with a prime-time tribute special, Must See TV: An All-Star Tribute to James Burrows, featuring reunited casts from across his career.

Golden Globe Awards