James Burrows, director of 'Cheers' and 'Friends,' dies at 85
What's new: Burrows directed more than 1,000 TV comedy episodes and won 11 Emmy Awards over a career spanning five decades.
James Burrows, the director and co-creator behind some of television's most enduring sitcoms, died Friday at 85. His family told People he died peacefully surrounded by relatives, though no cause or location was disclosed. Burrows directed more than 1,000 episodes across a career that helped define the modern TV comedy format. He co-created "Cheers" with Glen and Les Charles and directed 243 of its 273 episodes. He also directed all 246 episodes of "Will and Grace," along with episodes of "Friends," "Taxi," "Frasier" and "Mike & Molly," and the pilot episodes of "Two and a Half Men" and "The Big Bang Theory." Over more than 50 years in television, he won 11 Emmy Awards and five Directors Guild of America Awards.