„..

Directors Guild of America
Award, Burrows is represented
by 11 network shows this sea-
son for whom. he directed the
pilot episodes.
But Burrows — the son of
the late legendary Abe
Burrows, who directed and
wrote the scripts for such
Broadway shows as How to

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10/9
1998

96 Detroit Jewish News

248-865-0000
iar 248 - 865 - 0020

Succeed in Business Without
Really Trying, Can-Can and
Guys and Dolls — is trying his
hand this season at a different
kind of guy and doll: "Will &
Grace," the new NBC
Monday night comedy focus-
ing on a couple of roommates
who have no room for
romances in their lives — not
with each other anyway.
Luck be a lady tonight?
Not with this relationship:
Grace is straight and Will is
James Burrows: Another sitcom
gay and involved with another "Will 6 Grace."
guy.
Burrows is involved beyond
His education in Judaism came
the pilot episode. "I intend to do the
later. "My mother and father were
first 13 episodes of this show. This was
non-practicing Jews," he says.
far and away the best script I had read
"When I was 13, they asked me if
this year. It's also got the most inter-
I wanted to be bar mitzvah. What
esting relationship."
Jewish boy would say no?"
Burrows' relationship to TV has
This one did. But years later,
netted him accolades and applause
Burrows found that the traditions of
since 1974, when he accepted a direct-
a people thousands of years old
ing job on "The Mary Tyler Moore
spoke to him in a new way. When he
Show."
married, "I reacquainted myself with
More directing requests followed,
Judaism," says Burrows, giving some
so that his resume reads like a prize-
of the credit to his wife's influence.
winning playbill from the Emmy
Since remarried, Burrows borrows
Awards — with "Frasier," "Friends"
the humor of the past. "That Jewish
and "3rd Rock From the Sun" among
sense of comedy comes from sense of
his many credits.
family," he says, noting that his
His production company is also
father's family was a religious one.
responsible for "Caroline in the
As he got older, Burrows realized
City" and this season's "Conrad
that he may be considered a mensch
Bloom" in addition to "Will &
in the industry, but he wanted to
Grace."
think of himself as a man Jewishly.
Burrows relates to relationships.
The bar mitzvah he had not had
"I've done a lot of relationships on
he now wanted. "So I had one," he
television," he says.
says.
'Will & Grace'
"And this one"
"It was in an Orthodox shul and it
— "certainly stands out as a way of
was cool."
exploring issues with this couple.
It was also unconventional. After
When you get on a show that has an
all, the bar mitzvah boy was a bald-
interesting central relationship — as
ing baby boomer. "One of my pro-
Sam and Diane, as Frasier and Niles
ducer friends said I was the only one
— that makes for an exciting show.
he knew who was bar mitzvah at 47
"As long as we treat the show with
and started losing his hair at 13."
dignity," says Burrows, "as long as we
• — Michael Elkin,
handle it with class, it could be a
Entertainment Editor,
ground-breaking show."
When it comes to class, Burrows
Philadelphia Jewish Exponent
made the grade at Oberlin College
and then Yale University, where he
"Will & Grace" airs at 9:30 p.m.
earned an MFA.
Mondays on NBC.

.

—