James L Brooks

Industry Icon Award Winner

Survey the current television landscape, and you will see series that seamlessly combine pathos and comedy, that tackle social issues through heartfelt storytelling, that celebrate diversity and strong female characters. We take all of these elements for granted now. But they were once considered anathema to television success in the 1960s, when the biggest network shows were vapid and silly, with almost no connection to reality, full of castaways who couldn’t figure out how to get off an island, poor southern folks who had suddenly struck it rich and immediately moved to Beverly Hills, talking horses, witches, and subservient female genies.

Producer-writer James L. Brooks had other ideas. In 1969, he created Room 222, which followed a history class at a racially integrated high school, led by a teacher played by Lloyd Haynes. It was among the first shows to deal with social issues and feature a Black lead. The following year, with producer Allan Burns, he co-created The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which centered a career woman, became a feminist flashpoint, perfected the workplace comedy, and artfully blended real emotion with character-driven comedy. From there, he further changed television comedy by going on to co-create Taxi and The Simpsons.

Brooks began his career as an usher at CBS, working his way up to writing for the network’s news programs in New York. He moved to Los Angeles in 1965 to work for documentarian David L. Wolper, and eventually moved into television writing. His breakthrough came with Room 222, and, with the Peabody-winning Mary Tyler Moore Show (and spinoffs Rhoda and Lou Grant), he became a major player in the TV revolution of the 1970s along with Norman Lear.

In 1979, Brooks took his knack for character-driven comedy-drama to film, writing and co-producing the Burt Reynolds movie Starting Over, which earned two Oscar nominations for Reynolds’ costars, Candice Bergen and Jill Clayburgh. Brooks won three Academy Awards for his next project, writing, directing, and producing Terms of Endearment. He found similar success with Broadcast News and As Good as It Gets, while also mentoring other filmmakers by producing Penny Marshall’s debut directing effort Big and Cameron Crowe’s Say Anything.

He also continued producing television, to historic effect, when he formed Gracie Films and backed The Tracey Ullman Show from 1987-90. The sketch series included early versions of The Simpsons, which Brooks also went on to produce and help develop into the groundbreaking animated sitcom that has lasted 37 seasons and counting, and won two Peabodys.

For both his visionary works that pulled us into what was next and his lasting drive to mentor new talent, we recognize James L. Brooks with a Peabody Industry Icon Award.