American television director James Burrows, who earned a reputation as the “Steven Spielberg of sitcoms” for producing numerous successful comedy series, has died. His credits include “Friends” and “The Big Bang Theory.” He won 11 Emmy Awards over five decades of work. The director’s death at the age of 85 was confirmed by his agent, but the cause was not specified. The New York Times reports.
James Burrows was the most sought-after and highest-paid sitcom director during the golden age of network comedies – in the 1980s, 90s, and early 2000s. Although his role usually did not involve working with scripts, he was actively involved in writing the series’ plots.
In 1994, he also helped cast Friends. Before filming the pilot, he gathered a cast of mostly unknown young actors — Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry, and Jennifer Aniston — and flew them on a private jet to Las Vegas for dinner.