Jennifer Aniston posted a heartfelt tribute to her longtime “Friends” director James Burrows, who died on Friday at 85 years old.
“Papa Burrows. The hardest thing about writing this is that you spent a lifetime making people feel loved, and now it feels impossible to put all of that love into a few paragraphs,” Aniston wrote on Instagram Saturday. “He called us his ‘kids’ — ‘Where are the kids?’ ‘Let’s see if the kids can make the joke work.’ No pressure.”
“His own incredible children were generous enough to share him with all of us who were lucky enough to experience his unicorn presence,” she added. “He was a father figure to me. He always checked in on me. He worried about me, celebrated me, taught me, guided me, and held me through the hardest times and the best of times. He spoiled us rotten.”
Burrows is often credited as the father of the modern sitcom. Along with his stint on “Friends,” he also co-created the iconic ‘80s bar comedy “Cheers,” directed 75 episodes of “Taxi” and helmed every episode of “Will & Grace” from 1998 to 2020.
Aniston concluded, “Most of all, he taught us—the kids—how important it is to love and respect one another. To take care of each other. To have each other’s backs and support each other, no matter what. And we did just that. I miss your voice. I miss your laugh. I miss your brilliance. Wherever you are, I hope someone is asking, “Where are the kids?”
Among his dozens of other TV directing credits are “The Bob Newhart Show,” “Rhoda,” “The Betty White Show,” “Laverne & Shirley,” “Lou Grant,” “The Tony Randall Show,” “The Associates,” “The Stockard Channing Show,” “The Hogan Family,” “Night Court,” “Dear John,” “Ladies Man,” “Wings,” “Frasier,” “NewsRadio,” “Third Rock from the Sun,” “Pearl,” “Dharma & Greg,” “Caroline in the City,” “George & Leo,” “The Class,” “Courting Alex,” “Back to You,” “Two and a Half Men,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Hank,” “Up All Night,” “Better with You,” “$#*! My Dad Says,” “2 Broke Girls,” “Partners,” “Mike & Molly” and “The Millers.”