What is James Burrows' net worth and salary?
James Burrows is a prolific and highly influential American television director and producer who has a net worth of $600 million. In addition to directing over 1,000 episodes of television, James Burrows co-created the iconic sitcom "Cheers," which ran for 11 seasons. Burrows also directed numerous episodes of other beloved series, including "Taxi," "Frasier," "Friends," "Will & Grace," and "The Big Bang Theory." He has won 11 Emmy Awards.
Early Life
James Edward Burrows was born December 30, 1940 in Los Angeles, California. His father Abe was a successful director, author and composer. As a child 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 gradating from Yale, Jim returned to Los Angeles 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 out to 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 working at MTM Enterprises, James met brothers Glen and Les Charles. The Charles brothers wound up 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 of all time. James directed 237 of the show's 275 episodes.
Royalties
According to Hollywood legend, Jimmy Burrows makes $100 a minute, every minute of the day, from residuals alone. If that's true, and it might just be a legend, it would work out to $144,000 a day… $50 million a year. Seems insane and too amazing to be true. But he is certainly one of the most successful people in Hollywood history.
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Other Success
The '90s brought an even longer string of directorial prowess in television hit comedies to include Frasier, Friends, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Dharma & Greg and Will & Grace. Between 2000 and 2010, he directed Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, Mike & Molly, 2 Broke Girls, 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 for an Emmy award every year between 1980 and 2005, with the exception of 1997. As of this writing he has won ten Emmy Awards. Burrows' other claims to fame include being credited for expanding the typical 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 marred to his one-time hairstylist, Debbie Easton, for many years. He was previously married to Linda Solomon. He has three daughters and a stepdaughter from those relationships.
Real Estate
In 2015, James and Debbie paid $4.2 million for a 1-bedroom apartment in New York City. They listed the apartment for sale 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 has been a 13,000 square-foot palatial mansion in LA's Bel Air neighborhood which they bought in 2004 for $11.94 million. Th 4.5-acre property has a main house with six bedrooms plus a guest house, tennis court and pool. Not long after buying the mansion, James and Debbie did a full renovation down to the studs. In June 2022, James and Debbie listed home for sale for $38 million. In July 2024, they lowered the asking price to $28 million. Here is a video tour of the Burrows' Bel-Air mansion:
In Florida they own TWO properties in the highly-exclusive Wellington Community, an equestrian property where neighbors include Bill Gates. They bought their first Wellington home in 2015 for $2.52 million and the second in 2018 for $999,000.
In 2021, James and Debbie paid $15 million for a home 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.
