{"id":544392,"date":"2026-06-20T00:38:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T00:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/544392\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T00:38:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T00:38:15","slug":"james-burrows-tributes-lisa-kudrow-tony-danza-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/544392\/","title":{"rendered":"James Burrows Tributes: Lisa Kudrow, Tony Danza & More"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tAmid the news of James Burrows<\/a>\u2018 death, Hollywood is mourning the loss of the beloved sitcom director, the most decorated in the multi-cam format.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn Friday, following his death at age 85<\/a> from a brief illness, Burrows\u2019 past colleagues and peers paid tribute to \u201cthe greatest of all time\u201d in some heartfelt tributes from the likes of Lisa Kudrow, Tony Danza and more.<\/p>\n

\n\tLisa Kudrow, who starred alongside Burrows on The Comeback, shared a behind-the-scenes photo of the two of them from the recent third and final season of the HBO series. \u201cThank you Jimmy. I mean, for everything\u2026\u201d she wrote on her Instagram Story. Burrows played himself on the satirical comedy after directing several episodes of Friends.<\/p>\n

\n\tTony Danza, who appeared on several Burrows-helmed episodes of ABC\/NBC\u2019s Taxi, wrote on Instagram<\/a>, \u201cWe have lost the greatest of all time. Jimmy Burrows. I know I wouldn\u2019t be here without him. My thoughts are with Debbie and the kids.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tSean Hayes\u2019 husband Scott Icenogle shared a tribute from the two of them to Burrows, who directed and executive produced every episode of Hayes\u2019 groundbreaking NBC sitcom Will & Grace. \u201cThe world lost a cultural, television icon today \u2013 James \u2018Jimmy\u2019 Burrows.\u00a0Jimmy was a dear friend and I am incredibly grateful to have had many fun times with him both personally and professionally.\u00a0Sean and I are sending his incredible wife, Debbie, and his loving family all our love and support during this difficult time,\u201d wrote Icenogle on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Lisa<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tInstagram \/ lisakudrow<\/p>\n

\n\tHayes\u2019 longtime co-star Eric McCormack also shared a statement. \u201cWe lost a giant today, a mentor to me and a dear friend. #JamesBurrows directed every single episode of #Will&Grace\u2026 and pretty much everything else. The 800 lb gorilla of television comedy for fifty years, he was beloved by everyone, and has left not a mark but a footprint. An incredible legacy. Jimmy, thank you for everything you gave us. I love you. And I send so much love to Debbie and your whole beautiful family,\u201d he wrote on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tWill & Grace\u2018s Debra Messing wrote<\/a>, \u201cJames Burrows was a legend. An Icon. A singular talent and revolutionary in television. He brought laughter and love into more homes, globally, than any other TV director in history. To me he was Jimmy. To my son, he was Papa Jimmy.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI can\u2019t express the pain of his loss, and I know that is true for everyone who was lucky enough to be loved by him,\u201d she added in part. \u201cJimmy changed my life 28 years ago and has been in my life ever since. He had a dry sense of humor but exploded in laughter when he orchestrated comic moments that landed. I wanted his laughs most of all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tKat Dennings, who worked with Burrows on 2 Broke Girls, wrote on her Instagram Story, \u201cRIP to a real one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHer co-star Beth Behrs, who also worked with Burrows on the pilot episode of CBS\u2019s The Neighborhood, shared some of her favorite memories with the director. \u201cDear Jimmy, I\u2019ll never forget @katdenningsss and I becoming absolutely convinced you hated us during rehearsals for the pilot of 2 Broke Girls. We marched up to your podium like two fourth-graders called into the principal\u2019s office and asked you point-blank. I\u2019ll never forget the belly laugh. \u2018Oh girls, of course not,’\u201d she wrote on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\tBehrs added in part, \u201cAfter we shot the pilot but before we got picked up, I ran into my hero, Jennifer Aniston, in an elevator. I told her I had just done a pilot with you. She said, \u2018Oh, you have Jimmy? You\u2019ll get a pickup.\u2019 That was the reputation. The legend.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tCarrie Preston, who worked with the director on the 2016 NBC sitcom Crowded, wrote<\/a>, \u201cRIP Jimmy Burrows: I know you\u2019re showing the angels how it\u2019s done \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tA spokesperson for NBC said, \u201cJimmy Burrows was the man behind the curtain. He knew how to make us laugh, what buttons to push and was the absolute master of getting the most out of every joke. His loss to the television comedy world is immeasurable. Every time you have a smile on your face watching The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, Cheers<\/a>, Will & Grace, Friends and countless others, think of Jimmy and know he made all our lives funnier.<\/p>\n

\n\tJourney Gunderson, executive director of the National Comedy Center, said in a statement: \u201cFew individuals have had a greater impact on television comedy than James Burrows. Through a remarkable career spanning more than five decades, he helped shape the sound, rhythm, and language of modern television comedy, elevating the sitcom as an art form and influencing generations of writers, performers, directors, and storytellers. His work helped define television\u2019s most beloved comedies, and his legacy is woven into the history of comedy itself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n