The multi-talented James L Brooks has proven to be a force in television and films since the late 1960s. The Brooklyn-born, New Jersey-raised triple threat (writer-producer-director) moved to L.A. in the mid-60s and landed work on documentaries produced by David L Wolper. Brooks began to contribute scripts to the detective drama "My Friend Tony" (NBC, 1969) before he struck paydirt creating the groundbreaking half-hour comedy-drama "Room 222" (ABC, 1969-74) and the now classic sitcom "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (CBS, 1970-77). In collaboration, Brooks either co-executive produced and/or co-created some of the most memorable TV shows of the 1970s and 80s, including the spinoffs "Rhoda" (CBS, 1974-78) and "Lou Grant" (CBS, 1977-82) and "Taxi" (ABC, 1978-82, NBC, 1982-83) and sketch variety show "The Tracey Ullman Show" (Fox, 1987-90). Except for the animated "The Simpsons" (Fox, 1990- ), which Brooks co-executive produced, few of his TV projects in the 1990s and 2000s have met with success (e.g., the short-lived ABC sitcoms "Sibs," "Phenom" and "What About Joan" and the animated Fox series "The Critic"). Brooks has, however, amassed thirteen Emmy Awards (as of 1996).
Brooks moved into feature work in the late 70s, first as an actor in "Real Life" (1978), directed by Albert Brooks (no relation) and then with his screenplay for Alan J Pakula's "Starting Over" (1979), a comic look at the aftermath of divorce that provided the best screen roles to date for Burt Reynolds and Candice Bergen. Brooks made his feature directorial debut with the Oscar-winning "Terms of Endearment" (1983), which he also wrote and produced. The film offered a virtuoso performance from star Shirley MacLaine that was matched by Debra Winger, John Lithgow and Jack Nicholson. Brooks' neatly dovetailed storylines and clearly defined characters, the hallmarks of his TV background, have earned him popular and critical acclaim on the big screen. This big screen success allowed him to establish his own production company, Gracie Films (named in honor of the late Gracie Allen). Brooks' second feature was the acclaimed "Broadcast News" (1987), a glossy, witty comic look at TV news that provided a strong vehicle for Holly Hunter, Albert Brooks and William Hurt. He stumbled somewhat with his third feature, "I'll Do Anything" (1994). Originally filmed as a musical starring Nick Nolte and child actress Whittni Wright, the film was released as a comedy sans music after test screenings confused audiences. The final result was muddled, at best. Brooks returned with the highly anticipated teaming of Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt and Greg Kinnear in "As Good as It Gets" (1997), about a curmudgeon, a waitress and a gay man in contemporary New York. This romantic comedy-drama received seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay, but suprisingly Brooks' direction was not cited. Stars Nicholson and Hunt took home statues for their work. After a seven-year hiatus Brooks returned to the big screen with "Spanglish" (2004), an endearing if imperfect film about a Mexican immigrant (Paz Vega) and her daughter who bring a new perspective to a fracturing couple (Adam Sandler and Tea Leoni) and their insecure daughter.
In addition to his own features, Brooks had produced such fare as Penny Marshall's "Big" (1988), Cameron Crowe's "Say Anything" and Danny De Vito's "The War of the Roses" (both 1989) as well as "Bottle Rocket" (1996), the Tom Cruise vehicle "Jerry Maguire" (1996), which earned an Oscar nod as Best Picture, and the Drew Barrymore feature "Riding In Cars With Boys" (2001).