Courteney Cox remembers Friends director James Burrows: ‘Everything was better when he was around’

Actor Courteney Cox penned a heartwarming note to pay tribute to the late director Jimmy Burrows who passed away on Friday at the age of 85The actress shared the note on her Instagram handle reminiscing about behindthescenes anecdotes from the sets of Friends during the tenure of director Jimmy BurrowsView this post on InstagramA post shared by Courteney Cox courteneycoxofficialCourteney Cox wrote Jimmy B called me CoxNHammer I have no idea why or what it means but I just went with it cause he was Jimmy Burrows He always referred to us as the kids he took the cast under his wing and taught us everything we needed to know whether through his direction or telling us how things in our lives were gonna unfold never sugarcoating anything and he was always rightShe also praised the selfless behaviour of the director describing him as an egoless filmmaker despite the fameCourteney Cox wrote I would beg him to make more time to direct us but so did all of his other shows because everything was better when he was around You felt safe and confident and man what a blast we had Im not sure how someone with that much talent wisdom and adoration could be so egoless Making anything the best it could be was all that mattered to Jimmy well that and his wonderful kids and his beautiful wife Debbie I so loved watching them fall in loveEarlier Jennifer Aniston also penned a heartwarming note for James Burrows describing the filmmaker as a father figure in her lifePapa 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 on Sunday local timeShe continued He called us his kids Where are the kidsLets 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 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 rottenThe actress shared her learnings from the late director writing Most of all he taught usthe kidshow important it is to love and respect one another To take care of each other To have each others 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 kidsBurrows passed away on Friday with his family confirming the news in a statement to People magazineWe celebrate the extraordinary life and enduring legacy of James Jimmy Burrows who passed away peacefully today surrounded by his loving family For more than five decades Burrows was one of the most influential and beloved directors in television history As a legendary director mentor and creative force he helped shape generations of comedy and brought immeasurable joy to audiences around the world the family said in a statementAccording to the outlet Burrows is often credited as the father of the modern sitcom Along with his stint on Friends he also cocreated the iconic 80s bar comedy Cheers directed 75 episodes of Taxi and helmed every episode of Will amp Grace from 1998 to 2020Among his dozens of other TV directing credits are The Bob Newhart Show Rhoda The Betty White Show Laverne amp 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 amp Greg Caroline in the City George amp Leo The Class Courting Alex Back to You Two and a Half Men The Big Bang Theory Hank Up All Night Better with You 2 Broke Girls Partners Mike amp Molly and The MillersThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever