Ted Danson recently admitted that the late director James Burrows guided him throughout his run on Cheers.
For those unaware, the 78-year-old American actor shot to stardom by playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom Cheers. The show was created by Burrows, Les Charles, and Gen Charles and aired for eleven seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993.
During a ceremony in Los Angeles on Thursday, August 13, Danson was inducted into the 28th Television Academy Hall of Fame, where he showed his gratitude to each person he has worked with, especially Burrows.
He said of the late American television director, “He was like a dad in show business. He guided me, taught me what was funny.”
“When he wasn’t around the few times he wouldn’t direct — he wasn’t there, someone else was directing — I literally did not know how to play Sam Malone because it was all about making Jimmy laugh. So, Jimmy’s up there,” A Man on the Inside star confessed.
Notably, Burrows earned 11 Emmy Awards for his work in television and worked on top-notch shows such as The Big Bang Theory, Friends, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Frasier, Taxi, and Will & Grace.
It is pertinent to mention that James Burrows passed away at the age of 85 on June 19, 2026.
