James Burrows is a highly successful American television director and producer with a net worth of $600 million. Jim Burrows has directed over 1,000 episodes of television.
He’s noted for directing dozens of shows, famously Frasier, Will & Grace, Taxi, Friends, and Cheers – which he co-created. He has won 11 Emmy Awards.
Early Life
James Edward Burrows was born December 30, 1940, in LA, California. His father, Abe, was a successful director, author, and composer. As a toddler James and the family moved to New York City for Abe’s work.
James attended New York’s high school of Music and Art, then Oberlin College, followed by the Yale School of Drama.
After graduating from Yale, Jim returned to LA, where he got a job as a dialogue coach on one of his father’s shows.
He also worked for a time on the short-lived stage adaptation of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Playing the starring role of Holly Golightly was Mary Tyler Moore.
Years later, James reached bent Mary seeking work with her company, MTM Enterprises, and was soon hired to direct episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Bob Newhart Show.
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Cheers
While performing at MTM Enterprises, James met brothers Glen and Les Charles. The Charles brothers aroused hiring Jimmy to direct 76 episodes of Taxi, which they were producing.
In 1982, Glen, Les, and James co-created the show Cheers, which eventually became one of the most popular and successful shows. James directed 237 of the show’s 275 episodes.
Success
The ’90s brought a long string of directorial prowess in television hit comedies, including Frasier, Friends, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Dharma & Greg, and can & Grace.
Between 2000 and 2010, he directed Two and a Half Men, the large Bang Theory, Mike & Molly, 2 Broke Girls, and Friends with Better Lives, among others. Burrows has also made cameo appearances in several of the shows he directed.
He has been nominated for fifteen Directors Guild of America awards and an Emmy award per annum between 1980 and 2005, except for 1997.
As of this writing, he has won ten Emmy Awards. Burrows’ other claims to fame include being credited for expanding the standard multi-camera television shoot from three to four cameras.
He is also known for his comic timing and for incorporating more sophisticated lighting into television studio shoots.
Personal Life
Jim Burrows has been married to his one-time hairstylist, Debbie Easton, for several years. He was previously married to Linda Solomon. He has three daughters and a stepdaughter from those relationships.
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Real Estate
In 2015, James and Debbie paid $4.2 million for a 1-bedroom apartment in NY City. They listed the apartment purchasable in 2017 for $6.75 million. They also previously owned a 250+ acre farm in Millbrook, New York, which they sold in 2011 for $15 million.
In recent years, their primary residence was a 13,000-square-foot palatial mansion in LA’s Bel Air neighborhood which they bought in 2004 for $11.94 million.
The 4.5-acre property features a main house with six bedrooms, a guest house, a court, and a pool. Shortly after buying the mansion, James and Debbie fully renovated the studs. In June 2022, James and Debbie listed the home purchasable for $38 million.
In Florida, they own two properties within the highly-exclusive Wellington Community, an equestrian property where neighbors include Gates. They bought their first Wellington range in 2015 for $2.52 million and the second in 2018 for $999,000.
In 2021 James and Debbie paid $15 million for a range in Laguna Beach, California.
Around the same time as the Laguna purchase, they ALSO bought a home in La Quinta, California, for $3.3 million.
