Who is James L Brooks

James L. Brooks was born May 9, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York. He was raised in North Bergen, New Jersey by his parents Dorothy Helen Sheinheit and Edward M. Brooks. He attended New York University in New York City from 1958 to 1960, and on July 7, 1964 he married Marianne Katherine Morrissey, whom he subsequently divorced.

Brooks began his Television career as a writer for CBS News in New York from 1964 to 1966. In 1966 he moved to Los Angeles to work for David Wolper of Wolper Productions as a writer and producer for documentaries. In 1968 Brooks and his writing partner Alan Burns created a Television Series called Room 222 which launched their Television careers. The show was a revolutionary concept for the times because it focused on the career of a black high school teacher, Pete Dixon (Lloyd Haynes) and tackled tough issues such as racial conflict and drug use. The show won an Emmy for Outstanding New Series in 1969 because of the concerned, humane manner in which it tackled such issues.
Brooks' next success, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which he produced again along with Alan Burns, carried the same tone and style as Room 222. The success of The Mary Tyler Moore Show led to the creation of MTM Productions, where Brooks and Burns worked alongside a large group of talented people under executive producer Grant Tinker. With Tinker's support and guidance, Brooks and Burns both thrived, going on to produce or co produce many other successful shows including Rhoda, Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers, Taxi, The Associates, and Lou Grant.
The programs Brooks worked on a MTM Productions retained a distinctive style and tone, and have been referred to as examples of "quality television". The programs were unique for their time because of their development of character relationships connected by profession or circumstance rather than by family relationships.

Beginning in 1978 Brooks began to transition his career into film starting with his first project as writer and co producer for the film Starting Over. In 1983 he produced and directed Terms of Endearment for which he won several awards. In 1984 he started his own television and film production company, Gracie Films, which went on to produce the Television programs The Tracey Ullman Show, The Simpsons and The Critic as well as notable films Jerry Maguire, As Good as It Gets, Big, Bottle Rocket and Broadcast News. In 1987, Brooks produced, wrote and directed Broadcast News which won the New York Drama Critics Award for Best Screenplay and Best Picture. Through Gracie Films, he was executive-producer for the feature film "Say Anything," producer for "The War of the Roses" and co-producer of "Big" with Robert Greenhut.

In 1990, Brooks' Film Company, Gracie Films made a deal with Sony Pictures that lead to the production of the animated Series The Critic staring Jon Lovitz, the series Phenom staring Judith Light, William Devan and Angela Goethals, and the feature film I'll Do Anything staring Nick Nolte, Albert Brooks and Julie Kavner. Also in 1990, Brooks produced and directed his first play, Brooklyn Laundry starring Glenn Close, Woody Harrelson and Laura Dern. Brooks was the executive producer for the Film Bottle Rocket and the producer for Jerry Maguire in 1996, and in 1997 he co-wrote, directed and produced As Good as It Gets.

In 2001, James L. Brooks produced the film Riding in Cars with Boys starring Drew Barrymore and he was executive-producer for the ABC series What About Joan starring Joan Cusack. In 2004, Brooks wrote and directed the film, "Spanglish" starring Adam Sandler, Téa Leoni and Paz Vega for Columbia Pictures. In July 2007, Brooks co-wrote and produced "The Simpsons Movie," the movie version of the FOX series. He lives in Los Angeles.

James L. Brooks is a three-time Academy Award winner and 19-time Emmy Award winner. He has also received George Foster Peabody Awards; Humanitas Awards; Director's Guild Awards; and Writers Guild of America Awards. Some of his major awards include:

Academy Awards

Best Director
Terms of Endearment 1983
Best Picture
Terms of Endearment 1983
Best Adapted Screenplay
Terms of Endearment 1983

Emmy Awards

Outstanding Comedy Series
The Mary Tyler Moore Show 1975, 1976, 1977
Taxi 1979, 1980, 1981
Outstanding Writing - Comedy Series
The Mary Tyler Moore Show 1971, 1977
Outstanding Variety or Music Program
The Tracey Ullman Show 1989
Outstanding Writing - Variety or Music Program
The Tracey Ullman Show 1990
Outstanding Animated Program
The Simpsons 1990, 1991, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2008

Golden Globe Awards

Best Screenplay
Terms of Endearment 1984
Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
As Good as it Gets 1998

• My Three Sons (1960) (writer)
  
• The Andy Griffith Show (1960)
  
• My Mother The Car (1965) (writer)
  
• Mary Tyler Moore (1970) (producer)
  
• Rhoda (1974) (producer)
  
• Thursday's Game (1974) (writer-producer)
  
• Taxi (1978) (producer)
  
• The Tracey Ullman Show (1987) (producer)
  
• The Simpsons (1989-present) (executive producer)
  
• The Critic (1994) (executive producer)
  
• What about Joan (2001) (executive producer)

• Terms of Endearment (1983) (also writer-producer)
  
• Broadcast News (1987) (also writer-producer)
  
• I'll Do Anything (1994) (also writer-producer)
  
• As Good as It Gets (1997) (also writer-producer)
  
• Spanglish (2004) (also writer-producer)
  
• How Do You Know? (2009) (also writer-producer)

• Big (1988)
  
• Say Anything... (1989)
  
• The War of the Roses (1989)
  
• Bottle Rocket (1996)
  
• Jerry Maguire (1996)
  
• Riding in Cars with Boys (2001)
  
• The Simpsons Movie (2007) (also writer)