James Burrows Net Worth And Biography

Bio-Data

Biography

James Burrows was born on December 30, 1940, in Los Angeles, California but to a Jewish family. His parents are Ruth Levinson, and Abe Burrows who is a well-known composer, director, and writer. He has one sister, Laurie Burrows Grad.

James Burrows and his family moved to New York when he was still a child, and there, he attended New York’s High School of Music & Art. He is also a graduate of Oberlin College and Yale School of Drama.

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Early Career

Upon graduation from Yales, James Burrows returned to California where he was employed as a dialogue coach on O.K. Crackerby! (a tv series created by his father, Abe Burrows). Later on, he took a job as an assistant stage manager on the play, Holly Golightly which is an adaptation of the novella, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Although the production was unsuccessful, James Burrows was able to create a relationship with Mary Tyler Moore who was the star of the production.

He had also worked for the road company of Cactus Flower and the Broadway production of Forty Carats. Also, he directed the Broadway play, The Castro Complex. James Burrows continued working as a stage manager and later graduated into play directing. Then, he directed traveling plays and production at a Jacksonville, Florida dinner theater. In 1974, Tinker hired James Burrows as a director for MTM Enterprises where he directed episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Bob Newhart Show. He is also best known for his comic timing, complex blocking for actors, and using more sophisticated lighting in tv studio shoots. Hence, he received credit for being one of the first sitcom directors to increase the typical multi-camera television shoot from three to four cameras.

Career Success

James Burrows co-created Cheers with brothers, Glen and Les Charles who were also former employees of MTM Enterprises and also served as producers on the series, Taxi where James Burrows worked as in-house director for 76 episodes. Cheers premiered on NBC on September 30, 1982, having James Burrows direct all but 35 of 275 episodes. He also directed a Chicago-based production of the 1939 comedy, The Man Who Came to Dinner starring John Mahoney in 1998.

James Burrows has also directed several other series such as The Hogan Family, Phyllis, Rhoda, The Class, Romantically Challenged, Mike & Molly, Two and a Half Men, and so on.

Also, he directed every episode of Will & Grace during its initial eight-year run. And by 2012, he had already directed over 50 pilots for tv series. He has directed over 1,000 episodes of television, a milestone he achieved in November 2015 with the NBC sitcom Crowded. And to celebrate his achievements in 2016, NBC aired a special tribute on February 21, 2016, Must See TV: An All-Star Tribute to James Burrows featuring cast reunions from many of the series Burrows has directed such as Cheers, Taxi, Friends, Frasier, The Big Bang Theory, Will & Grace, and Mike & Molly. In January 2020, Andy Fisher and Burrows won the Directors Guild of America Award for Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Specials for Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s All in the Family and The Jeffersons.

James Burrows has had cameo appearances in several of the shows he has directed. And over the course of his career, James Burrows has been nominated for fifteen Directors Guild of America Awards, and Emmy Awards between 1980 and 2005, except in 1997. Out of his nominations, he has won 10 Emmy Awards and four Directors Guild of America Awards.

James Burrows’ Net Worth

As of 2022, James Burrow has an estimated net worth of $600 million, securing him a spot on the list of the richest directors in the world.

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Personal Life

James Burrows was previously married to Linda Solomon but their marriage ended in divorce (1981-1993). Later on, he got married to Debbie Easton who is a celebrity hairstylist in 1997. James Burrows has three daughters and a stepdaughter.