BROOKS, James L. 1940–

(James Hell Brooks, Jim Brooks)

PERSONAL

Born May 9, 1940, in Brooklyn, New York, NY (some sources cite North Bergen, NJ); son of Edward M. and Dorothy Helen (maiden name, Sheinheit) Brooks; married Marianne Catherine Morrissey, July 7, 1964 (divorced); married Holly Beth Holmberg (a television writer), July 23, 1978; children: (first marriage) Amy Lorraine; (second marriage) Chloe Dorothy, Cooper James, Joseph Charles. Education: Attended New York University, 1958–60.

Addresses:

Office—Gracie Films/Columbia Pictures, 10202 Washington Blvd., Poitier Building, Culver City, CA 90232–3119. Agent—International Creative Management, 8942 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211.

Career:

Director, screenwriter, and producer. CBS News, began as copy boy, became news writer and reporter, 1964–66; Wolper Productions, Los Angeles, CA, writer and producer of documentaries, 1966–67; ABC–TV, Los Angeles, executive story editor; Gracie Films, founder, 1984, and owner. Stanford University, guest lecturer at the Graduate School of Communications. Credited as James Hell Brooks in Halloween episodes of The Simpsons.

Member:

Directors Guild of America, Writers Guild of America, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Screen Actors Guild, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Awards, Honors:

Emmy Award, outstanding new series, 1969, for Room 222; Emmy awards, outstanding writing in a comedy series, 1971, 1976, and 1977, and outstanding comedy series, 1975, 1976, and 1977, Emmy Award nominations, outstanding comedy series, 1971, 1972, 1973, and 1974, outstanding writing in a comedy series, 1973, Writers Guild of America Award nomination, best comic episode, 1972, George Foster Peabody Broadcasting Award, Henry W. Grady School of Journalism, University of Georgia, TV Critics Achievement in Comedy Award, TV Critics Achievement in Series Award, Humanitas Prize, Human Family Educational and Cultural Institute, and Writers Guild of America Award nomination, best television play, all 1977, for The Mary Tyler Moore Show; Golden Globe Award, 1974, Emmy Award nominations, outstanding writing in a comedy series and outstanding comedy series, both 1975, and Humanitas Prize, 1977 and 1982, all for Rhoda; George Foster Peabody Broadcasting awards, 1977 and 1978, Emmy awards, outstanding writing in drama, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, and 1982, Emmy Award nomination, outstanding drama series, 1978, all for Lou Grant; Emmy awards, outstanding comedy series, 1979, 1980, and 1981, Emmy Award nomination, outstanding comedy series, 1982, TV Film Critics Circle awards, achievement in comedy and achievement in a series, 1977, Golden Globe awards, best comedy series, 1978, 1979, and 1980, and Humanitas Prize, 1979, all for Taxi; Writers Guild of America Award nomination, outstanding script, 1978, for Cindy; Screen Award nomination, Writers Guild of America, best comedy adapted from another medium, 1980, for Starting Over; Academy awards, best picture, best director, and best adapted screenplay, Golden Globe awards, best picture and best screenplay, Directors Guild of America Award, outstanding directorial achievement in motion pictures, National Board of Review Award and New York Film Critics Award, both best picture, Los Angeles Film Critics Association awards, best director and best screenplay, Screen Award, Writers Guild of America, best comedy adapted from another medium, and Golden Globe Award nomination, best director, all 1984, for Terms of Endearment; Emmy Award nominations, outstanding variety, music, or comedy program, 1987, 1988, and 1990, outstanding writing in a variety or music show, 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1990, and Emmy awards, outstanding variety, music, or comedy program, 1989, and outstanding writing in a variety or music program, 1990, all with others, all for The Tracey Ullman Show; New York Film Critics awards, best picture, best director, and best screenplay, Boston Society of Film Critics Award, best screenplay, Academy Award nominations, best picture and best screenplay, Golden Globe Award nominations, best director and best screenplay, Directors Guild of America Award nomination, outstanding directorial achievement in motion pictures, Screen Award nomination, Writers Guild of America, best screenplay written directly for the screen, and Golden Berlin Bear Award nomination, Berlin International Film Festival, all 1988, for Broadcast News; People's Choice Award, favorite comedy motion picture, 1988, for Big; ShoWest Award, National Association of Theatre Owners, director of the year, 1989; Emmy Award nomination (with others), outstanding variety, music, or comedy special, 1990, for The Best of the Tracey Ullman Show; Emmy Award nomination, outstanding animated program (with others), 1990, for Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire (also known as The Simpsons Christmas Special); Emmy awards, outstanding animated program, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, and 2003, Emmy Award nominations, outstanding animated program of one hour or less, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2002, and 2004, Emmy Award (with others), outstanding animated program of one hour or less, 1997, all with others, all for The Simpsons; Academy Award nomination (with others), best picture, 1997, for Jerry Maguire; Laurel Award (with Allan Burns), Producers Guild of America, television writing achievement, 1998; inducted into the Hall of Fame, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, 1998; Golden Satellite Award (with others), International Press Academy, best motion picture—comedy or musical, Screen Award (with Mark Andrus), Writers Guild of America, best screenplay written directly for the screen, Southeastern Film Critics Association Award (with Mark Andrus), best original screenplay, Academy Award nominations, best picture (with others) and best original screenplay (with Mark Andrus), Directors Guild of America Award nomination, outstanding directorial achievement in motion pictures, and Golden Globe Award nominations, best director and best screenplay, Motion Picture Producer of the Year Award nomination (with others), all 1998, and Czech Lion Award nomination, best foreign language film, 1999, all for As Good as It Gets; AFI Filmmaker Award, U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, 1999.

CREDITS

Television Creator; Series:

Room 222, ABC, 1969–74.

(With Allan Burns) The Mary Tyler Moore Show (also known as Mary Tyler Moore), CBS, 1970–77.

(With Burns) Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers (also known as Friends and Lovers), CBS, 1974–75.

(With Stan Daniels, Ed. Weinberger, and David Davis) Taxi, ABC, 1978–82, NBC, 1982–83.

(With Daniels, Weinberger, and Charlie Hauck) The Associates, ABC, 1979–80, syndicated, 1982.

(With others) The Tracey Ullman Show, Fox, 1987–90.

Television Executive Producer; Series:

The Mary Tyler Moore Show (also known as Mary Tyler Moore), CBS, 1970–77.

Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers (also known as Friends and Lovers), CBS, 1974–75.

(With others) Rhoda, CBS, 1974–78.

(With others) Lou Grant, CBS, 1977–82.

(With others; and executive consultant) Taxi, ABC, 1978–82, NBC, 1982–83.

(With others) The Associates, ABC, 1979–80, syndicated, 1982.

The Tracey Ullman Show, Fox, 1987–90.

(And executive creative consultant) The Simpsons (animated), Fox, 1990—.

Sibs (also known as Grown–Ups), ABC, 1991–92.

Phenom, ABC, 1993–94.

The Critic (animated), ABC, 1994, Fox, 1995, broadcast on the Internet, beginning 2000.

What about Joan, ABC, 2001.

Television Executive Producer; Specials:

(And executive creative consultant) Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire (also known as The Simpsons Christmas Special), Fox, 1989.

The Best of the Tracey Ullman Show, Fox, 1990.

Mary Tyler Moore: The 20th Anniversary Show, CBS, 1991.

Related by Birth, ABC, 1993.

The Best of Taxi (also known as Hey, Taxi), CBS, 1994.

Television Producer; Movies:

Thursday's Game (also known as The Berk), ABC, 1974.

(And creative consultant) Cindy, ABC, 1978.

Television Producer; Pilots:

(With Allan Burns) Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers (also known as Friends and Lovers), CBS, 1974.

Television Appearances; Miniseries:

American Cinema, PBS, 1995.

TV Land Moguls (documentary), TV Land, 2004.

Television Appearances; Specials:

Naked Hollywood, Arts and Entertainment, 1991.

Getting the Goods on "As Good As It Gets" (documentary), 1997.

The Director's Vision: Hollywood's Best Discuss Their Craft, 1998.

Musik im Spiegel der Gefuhle, 1998.

Influences: From Yesterday to Today, 1999.

AFI's 100 Years, 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies, CBS, 2000.

Television Appearances; Awards Presentations:

The 56th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1984.

The 41st Annual Emmy Awards, Fox, 1989.

Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS) 13th Annual Hall of Fame, 1998.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

(Uncredited) Subway passenger, "Rhoda's Wedding: Part 2," Rhoda, CBS, 1974.

Himself, "Shirley Maclaine: This Time Around," Biography, Arts and Entertainment, 2000.

Inside TV Land: The Dick Van Dyke Show (documentary), TV Land, 2000.

(As Jim Brooks) "A Star Is Re–Born Again," The Simpsons (animated), Fox, 2003.

"Jack Nicholson," Biography, Arts and Entertainment, 2004.

Film Director:

Starting Over, Paramount, 1979.

Terms of Endearment, Paramount, 1983.

Broadcast News, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1987.

I'll Do Anything (also known as Make Believe It's Only a Movie), Columbia, 1994.

As Good as It Gets (also known as Old Friends), TriStar, 1997.

Spanglish, Columbia/TriStar, 2004.

Film Executive Producer:

Say Anything …, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1989.

Bottle Rocket, Columbia, 1996.

Film Producer:

(With Alan J. Pakula) Starting Over, Paramount, 1979.

(With others) Terms of Endearment, Paramount, 1983.

Between Friends, Orion, 1986.

(With Penney Finkelman Cox) Broadcast News, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1987.

(With Robert Greenhut) Big, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1988.

War of the Roses, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1989.

I'll Do Anything (also known as Make Believe It's Only a Movie), Columbia, 1994.

Jerry Maguire (also known as The Agent), TriStar, 1996.

As Good as It Gets (also known as Old Friends), TriStar, 1997.

Riding in Cars with Boys, Columbia, 2001.

Spanglish, Columbia/TriStar, 2004.

Film Appearances:

Driving evaluator, Real Life, Paramount, 1979.

David, Modern Romance, Columbia, 1981.

She Turned the World On with Her Smile: The Making of the "Mary Tyler Moore Show," 2002.

Eight Characters In Search of a Sitcom, 2003.

Stage Work:

Director and producer, Brooklyn Laundry, Los Angeles production, 1990.

RECORDINGS

Video Games:

Character developer, The Simpsons Wrestling, 2001.

WRITINGS

Teleplays; with Others; Series:

My Three Sons, ABC, c. 1960–65, CBS, 1965–72.

The Doris Day Show, CBS, 1968–73.

My Friend Tony, NBC, 1969.

(With Allan Burns) Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers (also known as Friends and Lovers), CBS, 1974–75.

(With Burns) Lou Grant, CBS, 1977–82.

(With Burns) The Associates, ABC, 1979–80, syndicated, 1982.

(With Burns) The Duck Factory, NBC, 1984.

(With Burns) The Tracey Ullman Show, Fox, 1987–90.

(With Burns) The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, NBC, 1987–88, Lifetime, 1989–91.

(With Burns) Eisenhower & Lutz, CBS, 1988.

The Simpsons (animated), Fox, beginning 1990.

Teleplays; Movies:

Thursday's Game (also known as The Berk), ABC, 1974.

(With others) Cindy, ABC, 1978.

(With others) The Munsters' Revenge, NBC, 1981.

Teleplays; Specials:

(With others) Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire (animated; also known as The Simpsons Christmas Special), Fox, 1989.

Teleplays; Episodic:

(With Mitch Persons) "The Blabbermouth," My Mother the Car, NBC, 1966.

"It Might as Well Be Spring as Not," My Mother the Car, NBC, 1966.

(As Jim Brooks) "Pass the Potatoes, Ethel Merman," That Girl, ABC, 1967.

"Rain, Snow and Rice," That Girl, ABC, 1967.

"Emmett's Brother–in–Law," The Andy Griffith Show, CBS, 1968.

"The Mayberry Chef," The Andy Griffith Show, CBS, 1968.

"Richie's Story," Room 222, ABC, 1969.

(With Allan Burns) "Christmas and the Hard Luck Kid," The Mary Tyler Moore Show (also known as Mary Tyler Moore), CBS, 1970.

(With Burns) "Love Is All Around," The Mary Tyler Moore Show (also known as Mary Tyler Moore), CBS, 1970.

(With Burns) "Support Your Local Mother," The Mary Tyler Moore Show (also known as Mary Tyler Moore), CBS, 1970.

(With Burns) "Just a Lunch," The Mary Tyler Moore Show (also known as Mary Tyler Moore), CBS, 1971.

(With Burns) "The Good–Time News," The Mary Tyler Moore Show (also known as Mary Tyler Moore), CBS, 1972.

(With others) "Rhoda's Wedding: Parts 1 & 2," Rhoda, CBS, 1974.

(With Burns) "The Last Show," The Mary Tyler Moore Show (also known as Mary Tyler Moore), CBS, 1977.

(With others) "Like Father, Like Daughter," Taxi, ABC, 1978.

Author of "The Enterprise in Action," an episode of Time–Life Specials: The March of Time.

Teleplays; Pilots:

(With Michael Zagor) Going Places, NBC, 1973.

(With others) The New Lorenzo Music Show, ABC, 1976.

Screenplays:

Starting Over (based on a novel by Dan Wakefield), Paramount, 1979.

Terms of Endearment (based on a novel by Larry McMurtry), Paramount, 1983.

Broadcast News, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1987.

I'll Do Anything (also known as Make Believe It's Only a Movie), Columbia, 1994.

As Good as It Gets (also known as Old Friends), TriStar, 1997.

Spanglish, Columbia/TriStar, 2004.

Stage Plays:

Brooklyn Laundry, Los Angeles production, 1990.

Video Games:

(With others) The Simpsons, 1991.

OTHER SOURCES

Books:

St. James Encyclopedia, St. James Press, 2000.

Periodicals:

Advocate, December 23, 1997, p. 32.

Entertainment Weekly, November 1, 1999, p. 108; November 12, 2004, pp. 63–70.

New York Times, April 8, 1984; January 7, 1988, p. C19.

Premiere, January, 1998, pp. 47–51; February, 1988, pp. 84, 86.