Person Details

Birthday:

Aliases: No known aliases

Gender: Male

Place of birth: North Bergen, New Jersey, USA

Homepage:

Movie Involvements: 76

TV Involvements: 33


Most Famous Work

Biography

James Lawrence Brooks (born May 9, 1940) is an American director, producer, screenwriter and co-founder of Gracie Films. He co-created the sitcoms The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, and The Simpsons and directed the films Terms of Endearment (1983), Broadcast News (1987), and As Good as It Gets (1997). He received numerous accolades, including three Academy Awards, 22 Emmy Awards, and a Golden Globe Award. Brooks started his career as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the CBS News broadcasts. He moved to Los Angeles in 1965 to work on David L. Wolper's documentaries. He wrote for My Mother the Car and My Friend Tony and created the series Room 222. Grant Tinker hired Brooks and producer Allan Burns at MTM Productions to create The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1970. Brooks and Burns then created two successful spin-offs from Mary Tyler Moore: Rhoda (a comedy) and Lou Grant (a drama). Brooks left MTM Productions in 1978 to co-create the sitcom Taxi (1978-1983). Brooks moved into feature film work when he wrote and co-produced the 1979 film Starting Over. His next project was the critically acclaimed film Terms of Endearment, which he produced, directed and wrote, winning an Academy Award for all three roles. He earned acclaim for his films Broadcast News (1987) and As Good as It Gets (1997). He received mixed reviews for  I'll Do Anything (1994), Spanglish (2004), and How Do You Know (2010). Brooks also produced Cameron Crowe's Say Anything... (1989) and Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket (1996). In 1986, Brooks founded Gracie Films, a television and film company. Although he did not intend to do so, Brooks returned to television in 1987 as the producer of The Tracey Ullman Show. He hired cartoonist Matt Groening to create a series of shorts for the show, which led in 1989 to The Simpsons. The Simpsons won numerous awards and is still running after over 35 years. Brooks also co-produced and co-wrote the 2007 film adaptation of the show, The Simpsons Movie. Brooks has received 53 Emmy nominations, winning 21 of them. Description above from the Wikipedia article James L. Brooks, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Most Famous Work

The Simpsons
Average
8

The Simpsons

(1989) Development Manager
Room 222
Average
6

Room 222

(1969) Creator
Lou Grant
Average
7

Lou Grant

(1977) Creator
Rhoda
Average
6

Rhoda

(1974) Creator
The Andy Griffith Show
Average
8
The Simpsons Movie
Average
7

The Simpsons Movie

(2007) Producer
That Girl
Average
6

That Girl

(1966) Writer
The Simpsons: O C'mon All Ye Faithful
Average
7

The Simpsons: O C'mon All Ye Faithful

(2024) Executive Producer

Acting

Production

Year Role Movie/Tv
2024 Producer
Executive Producer
Producer
Producer
2023 Producer
Producer
2022 Producer
Producer
2021 Producer
Producer
Producer
2020 Producer
2016 Producer
2012 Producer
2010 Producer
2007 Producer
2004 Producer
2001 Producer
Producer
1997 Producer
1996 Producer
Executive Producer
1994 Producer
Producer
1993 Producer
1991 Producer
1990 Executive Producer
Executive Producer
1989 Executive Producer
Development Manager
Producer
Executive Producer
1988 Producer
1987 Producer
Executive Producer
1983 Producer
1979 Producer
Producer
1978 Executive Producer
Producer
1977 Producer
1974 Producer
Producer
1970 Executive Producer
Producer
Year Role Movie/Tv

Writing

Crew

Directing

Creator


Join the discussion

Please Log in to comment