RIP James Burrows

[garrow]

Had an incredible career.

https://people.com/james-burrows-dead-cheers-co-creator-director-was-85-exclusive-11744793

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Did anybody know his name?

(RIP, good sir and Thank You.)

 

[Slacker]

RIP to a giant among giants in TV land.
Thanks again for all the laughs everything!

Burrows had a decades-long career in television that began with The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He co-created the hit series Cheers. The 11-time Emmy winner also directed every episode of Will & Grace during its original run, and worked behind the camera on shows like Taxi, Frasier, Friends and 3rd Rock from the Sun.

 

[lakefront]

Not a long enough sample, a laugh I have loved for a long time.

 

[garrow]

His dad Abe had a great career too: host of a golden age radio show and wrote the book for many Broadway shows like Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed.

 

[DanOregon]

A brilliant episode. In some ways I wished actors would be too busy doing TV and movies to have time to do all of the podcasts that are being produced these days - and yet, I think Smartless is now in the top 5 of what each of the hosts is now known for/best things they've ever done. Love that Burrows "directs" this episode at times.

He describes "what he does" at about the 14 minute mark. With sitcoms you aren't selecting locations or camera angles/shots - it's all about maximizing the performance. Guess it worked, a reported net worth of $600m.

The stuff about "listening" more than watching and cutting and re-setting during a filming when an actor is failing to set up the joke in order to keep the live studio audience from hearing the payoff until it is set up properly I found fascinating. "So much of humor comes from surprise...."

"A great script, a great cast and the right time slot."

The Norm on Cheers stuff at the 35 minute mark.

Fred Dreyer or William Devane as Sam? Julia Duffy or Lisa Eichorn as Diane? I wouldn't have bought Dreyer as a former Patriots WR either.

The Tony Clifton on Taxi story at 55 min. mark, OMG!

 

[Slacker]

Dryer.