James Burrows, master of the television situation comedy, who was a creator of “Cheers” and directed more than 1,000 episodes of that show and other TV classics like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Bob Newhart Show,” “Taxi,” “Frasier,” “Friends,” and “The Big Bang Theory,” died on June 19. He was 85.

Mr. Burrows earned a reputation as the “Steven Spielberg of sitcoms,” winning 11 Emmy Awards and receiving 47 nominations in a career that spanned five decades. “When I direct a television show, I try to reach that sweet spot where the best script meets the best performance and the best chemistry between performers,” Mr. Burrows wrote in his 2022 autobiography, Directed By James Burrows, written with Eddy Friedfeld. “Hitting that exact moment, where these factors land in combination, results in the sweetest and most enduring laugh.”