James Burroughs, the legendary television director, died on Friday at the age of 85. Many from across the industry issued statements praising him. Below, you can read a longer personal memoir provided exclusively to Hollywood Reporter By Warren Littlefield, who became an NBC executive in 1979 and served as president of NBC Entertainment from 1991 through 1998, including the era of legendary “must-see” television.
The greatest and most prolific source of laughter and joy in America was and remains Jimmy Burroughs.
Jimmy’s brilliance revealed itself in many ways. In casting sessions that included showrunners, writers, studio representatives and network executives, the voice everyone heard most was Jimmy’s. He has guided the actors by gaining their trust so that they can fearlessly take risks outside their comfort zone. He had a wicked funny mind, but also a very kind soul. Uniquely, he also mentored writers, telling them what he needed to take their material to another level. Marta Kaufmann, after making the first episode of friends With Jimmy, he said what opened her eyes was his skill at dramaturgy. No one was equal to him in this regard.
I met Jimmy shortly after I started working at NBC in comedy development in late 1979. At the time, ABC and CBS both had at least a dozen award-winning, wildly popular programs on their schedules. NBC had Different strokes and Hi Larry. That’s it. NBC was desperate to be competitive in the genre, and overpaid the Charles brothers, Les and Glenn, and Jimmy Burroughs, who had good credentials to work on other people’s shows, but had never created a show on their own. The deal was two scripts in exchange for a commitment to a 13-episode series. Their brilliant agent, Bob Broder, marketed our offer to other potential buyers, but no one was as desperate as NBC.
Over breakfast in Burbank, Jimmy, Liz, and Glenn gave us some snippets of what they were thinking. They wanted to do an adult comedy, maybe set in a bar. Unlike the popular ABC dialect Three Companythey wanted to channel a little of the dynamic of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, or Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell into His girl FridayAnd maybe add a little George Cukor The Philadelphia Story. We said yes and Cheers child.
When casting the show, Fred Dreyer, the former Los Angeles Rams football player, gave a very entertaining reading as “Sam Malone,” and there was a good chance we would roll the dice with him, but Jimmy insisted that Ted Danson was the man we could count on scene for scene, day after day. He told us to put Fred in the drama. Jimmy spoke and we listened – to both actors – and thank God we did. History repeated itself when Kelsey Grammer read about the newly created role of “Frasier Crane” in the film Cheers. Was Kelce the best choice? Jimmy said he was, and Freezer It was the award-winning, quality comedy that kept us going for 11 more seasons after that Cheers Leave.
Jimmy executive produced all 275 episodes of the series Cheers And he took out 236. It was everything they envisioned on the off-field breakfast show so many years ago, but it represented so much more. For me, it was a learning tree of what adult comedy on network television could be. They never showed individual episodes, but rather character arcs across a season. No one has done that before. I listened and learned, and Jimmy, Liz, and Glenn changed the DNA of comedy at NBC forever. Sophisticated, urban young adult comedies have been a beacon for us — we’re finally getting one.
There would be no NBC’s “Must See TV” without Jimmy. He was our north star. Fire Night court, wings, Freezer, friends and The third rock from the sun. Jimmy executive produced and directed every episode of the series Will & Grace For the peacock. Vice President Joe Biden praised the series when he announced the Marriage Equality Act, which made Jimmy smile — but he was. especially Glad how much the show means to his kids.
Year after year, NBC’s Advertiser Upfronts in New York has been a celebration of the genius of Jimmy Burroughs. Late night parties ensued and the alcohol flowed, and my memory is still filled with talents of all ages looking lovingly at the teacher with immense gratitude. One only has to go to friends A special reunion to witness this love.
What Jimmy did with Chuck Lorre at CBS was equally remarkable for his influence and accomplishments at NBC, but that’s a story for someone else to tell.
In the digital age we live in now, 500 episodes is the amount of content needed to launch a platform. In 2016, in a stunning star-studded ceremony, NBC honored Jimmy for producing and directing the 1,000th episode of his television show. Imagine a world that doesn’t have one but two Jimmy Burrows Channels – It will be a world of laughter and joy. Thank you, Jimmy, and regards!
