In an excerpt from his memoir, ‘Friends’ director James Burrows spills on the Vegas trip that first brought the cast together.
Gather the book club, it’s time for some friendly Friends gossip!
In an excerpt from his forthcoming memoir, Friends director James Burrows spills on the Vegas trip that first sparked the chemistry of his legendary sitcom’s cast in a new article from WSJ Magazine.
“I made a reservation for just the seven of us at Spago,” Burrows writes in Directed by James Burrows, out June 7. “I asked for the center table in the restaurant, where everyone could see us. I knew the show had a chance to really take off and told the kids, ‘This is your last shot at anonymity. Once the show airs, you guys will never be able to go anywhere without being hounded.’”
Burrows writes that his new cast didn’t believe him, nor did they have the money to spend on gambling. “I laid out $1,400,” he writes. “If the math doesn’t seem right, it’s because [Matt] LeBlanc had no idea how to play craps and he lost his two hundred dollars in seconds, so I gave him another two hundred.”
After that night, the crew returned to Los Angeles and the show premiered with massive success. “They’ve never had a shot at anonymity since, and they each wrote me reimbursement checks for the money I gave them,” Burrows writes.
Burrows has also worked on Taxi, Cheers and Will & Grace. His new memoir offers a deep dive into the interpersonal bonds that come out of the legendary productions he's been a part of.
“The six became real friends and would play poker in my dressing room,” he writes of the Friends cast. “It was about bonding. They genuinely adored one another. A director and cast live for that kind of connection.”
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