James Burrows, the Pilot Director Who Shaped Broadcast Comedy, Dies at 85

James Burrows, who directed pilots for *Friends*, *Frasier*, and *The Big Bang Theory*, died June 19 at age 85. His work across five decades of multicamera sitcoms made him indispensable to network comedy. An 11-time Emmy winner and co-creator of *Cheers*, Burrows established performance conventions and camera techniques that persist in television today.