                                        {"id":2469,"date":"2026-06-19T19:09:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T19:09:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2469"},"modified":"2026-06-19T19:09:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T19:09:37","slug":"james-burrows-will-grace-director-and-cheers-co-creator-dead-at-85","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2469","title":{"rendered":"James Burrows, &#8216;Will &amp; Grace&#8217; director and &#8216;Cheers&#8217; co-creator, dead at 85"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>James Burrows, known for co-creating \u201cCheers and directing \u201cWill &amp; Grace,\u201d has died. He was 85.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2467\">USA vs. Australia live updates: Christian Pulisic out for pivotal World Cup clash<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe celebrate the extraordinary life and enduring legacy of James \u2018Jimmy\u2019 Burrows, who passed away peacefully today surrounded by his loving family,\u201d his family told People in a statement Friday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor more than five decades, Burrows was one of the most influential and beloved directors in television history,\u201d the statement continued. \u201cAs a legendary director, mentor, and creative force, he helped shape generations of comedy and brought immeasurable joy to audiences around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Burrows\u2019 loved ones recalled his \u201cunparalleled career\u201d after he directed more than 1,000 TV episodes. He also created and produced several acclaimed shows like \u201cThe Mary Tyler Moore Show,\u201d \u201cTaxi,\u201d \u201cFrasier,\u201d \u201cFriends\u201d and\u00a0\u201cThe Big Bang Theory.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut beyond his remarkable achievements, Burrows will be remembered for something even greater: his kindness, generosity, and unwavering belief in the people around him,\u201d the statement continued. \u201cHe possessed a rare ability to make everyone better and was known for remembering every person he met by name, making colleagues at every level feel seen, valued, and appreciated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His family remembered the television great as someone who understood that great comedy is about mor ethan just laughter. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2465\">Italy\u2019s Meloni rips Trump after he claimed she \u2018begged\u2019 for a photo at G7 as top diplomat cancels US trip<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was about humanity, connection, and truth,\u201d the statement said. \u201cThat understanding became the foundation of a career that forever changed television.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis influence will continue to be felt for generations through the countless artists he inspired, the stories he helped tell, and the millions of people whose lives were brightened by his work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The statement concluded with the family remembering him as a devoted husband, father and grandfather. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe is survived by his beloved wife, Debbie, his four daughters, and his seven grandchildren,\u201d the statement said. \u201cHe will be profoundly missed and forever remembered. Our thoughts are with Debbie, his children and grandchildren, his family, friends, collaborators, and all those whose lives he touched. May his memory be a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2463\">Christian Pulisic out for USMNT\u2019s key group match vs. Australia<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Page Six has reached out to his rep for comment. <\/p>\n<p><strong><em>This is a developing story\u2026<br \/><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>James Burrows, known for co-creating &#8220;Cheers and directing &#8220;Will &#038; Grace,&#8221; has died. He was 85.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>James Burrows, &#039;Will &amp; Grace&#039; director and &#039;Cheers&#039; co-creator, dead at 85 - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=2469\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"James Burrows, &#039;Will &amp; Grace&#039; director and &#039;Cheers&#039; co-creator, dead at 85 - Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"James Burrows, known for co-creating &quot;Cheers and directing &quot;Will &amp; Grace,&quot; has died. 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