Jennifer Aniston shares rare Friends photos as she mourns ‘father figure’ James Burrows in heartfelt tribute after TV director’s death

Jennifer Aniston remembered her ‘father figure’ James Burrows in a deep-felt tribute one day after the famed TV director’s death.

The 57-year-old actress’ post was accompanied by a carousel of rare photos of Burrows and the Friends cast at various stages of their lives at work and play.

‘Oh boy… Papa Burrows,’ Aniston shared on Instagram Saturday, the day before Father’s Day. ‘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.’

The Emmy-winning sitcom director passed away in his sleep on Friday after a brief undisclosed illness. He was 85.

Burrows directed 15 episodes on Friends from 1994 to 1998, including the pilot that set the tone for the series.

The TV legend helped to shape the early careers of Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry – who died of an accidental overdose of the anesthetic ketamine in October 2023 at age 54 – from obscurity to fan obsession.

He guided a lot of other iconic shows like Cheers and Will & Grace.

But Friends remained a favorite of Burrows’ and he often expressed his deep affection for the cast and the series.

‘He called us his ‘kids’ — ‘Where are the kids?’ ‘Let’s see if the kids can make the joke work.’ No pressure,’ Aniston continued.

Burrows is survived by his second wife, hairstylist Linda Easton, who he married in 1997.

He had three daughters from his first marriage to Linda Solomon, who he divorced in 1993. 

‘His own incredible children were generous enough to share him with all of us who were lucky enough to experience his unicorn presence,’ Aniston added.

‘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 rotten. 

‘Most of all, he taught us—the kids—how important it is to love and respect one another. To take care of each other. To have each other’s backs and support each other, no matter what. And we did just that.’

She concluded: ‘I miss your voice. I miss your laugh. I miss your brilliance. Wherever you are, I hope someone is asking, ‘Where are the kids?”

Burrows knew Friends was going to be a smash hit because the test audience ratings were ‘through the roof,’ he said on the Conan Needs a Friend podcast in 2022.

‘They loved those characters. 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 on Will & Grace, that happened on Cheers. You can sense, in doing the shows, whether the audience reacts to it and I knew then and there how good that show was.’

As legend has it, Burrows treated the young cast to a Las Vegas getaway before the show’s September 1994 premiere so they could experience their last taste of anonymity.

Burrows purposely chose a highly visible table in the middle of a busy restaurant.

‘And he took us to dinner at Spago at Caesars Palace, and we were like, ‘We’re so fancy,” Aniston told Ellen DeGeneres on the latter’s now-defunct talk show in 2019, per Entertainment Weekly.

The LolaVie founder remembered the serious speech Burrows gave them all.

”This world can be pretty dark, and you guys gotta really stick together and take care of each other,” Aniston recalled Burrows telling them. 

‘And we took that to heart for sure, obviously. 

‘And then he handed us each a couple hundred bucks and said, ‘Now go into the casino and go gamble because this is the last time you’ll be able to walk into a casino anonymously.’

‘And we had no clue what he was talking about… and sure enough, that was the last time we were able [do that].’