Jennifer Aniston has paid a heartfelt tribute to longtime Friends director James Burrows, who passed away on Friday at the age of 85.
“Papa Burrows. The hardest thing about writing this is that you’ve spent your whole life making people feel loved, and now it feels impossible to sum up all that love in a few paragraphs,” Aniston posted on Instagram on Saturday. “He called us ‘kids.’ ‘Where are the kids?’ ‘Let’s see if the kids can make that joke.’ There’s no pressure. ”
“His own wonderful children were generous enough to share him with all of us who were lucky enough to experience his unicorn presence,” she added. “He was like a father figure to me. He always looked out for me. He cared for me, he blessed me, he taught me, he guided me, he supported me through the hardest times and the best of times. He spoiled us to the core.”
Burroughs is often credited as the father of the modern sitcom. In addition to starring on “Friends,” he co-created the iconic ’80s bar comedy “Cheers,” directed 75 episodes of “Taxi” and directed every episode of “Will & Grace” from 1998 to 2020.
Aniston added, “More than anything, he taught us, our children, how important it is to love and respect each other. To care for each other. To support and support each other no matter what. And we did just that. I miss your voice. I miss your laugh. I miss your glow. I hope that wherever you are, someone will ask, ‘Where are the kids?’
Among his dozens of other television directorial works 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,” “The Ladies Man,” “Wings,” and “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,” “Partner,” “Mike & Molly,” and “The Mirrors.”
