Jennifer Aniston mourns the death of a famous TV director James Burrows.
“Oh boy… 💔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 put all that love into a few paragraphs,” Aniston, 57, wrote in Instagram on Saturday, June 20. “He called us his 'children' – 'Where are the children?' 'Let's see if the kids can make the joke work.' There is no pressure. ❤️“
Pits died on Friday, June 19, after an undisclosed illness at the age of 85. James is survived by his wife, Debbie Easton Burrowsand their four children.
“Her amazing children were generous enough to share her story with all of us who were lucky enough to experience her unicorn presence,” Aniston added on Saturday. “He was a father to me. He always looked out for me. He worried about me, celebrated me, taught me, guided me and held me through the hardest times and the best times. He hurt us rotten.”
He continued, “Above all, he taught us – the kids – how important it is to love and respect each other. To take care of each other. To have each other's backs and support each other, no matter what. And we're doing just that.”
Burrows, co-creator Happinessit is also directed by many Friends episodes in the late 90s, the best TV series. Aniston, on the other hand, starred in a sitcom as Rachel Green, and vice versa Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer again Matthew Perry. (Perry died in 2023 of an accidental ketamine overdose. He was 54.)
“In that show, [the test audience ratings] it was through the roof,” Burrows said on “Conan Needs a Friend” a podcast in 2022, he suggested Friends it will end up hitting hard. “They loved those letters.”
He added, “I [directed] the first, I think, three or four [episodes] and there's a story about me taking the cast to Vegas because I knew there was something special about this show. You know that happened Will & Gracethat happened Happiness. When you do shows, you see that the audience responds and I knew then how good this show was.”
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As for Aniston, she will always cherish her memories of Burrows.
“I miss your voice. I miss your laugh. I miss your intelligence,” he concluded, presenting his speech on social media. “Wherever you are, I hope someone is asking, 'Where are the children?' ❤️.”
