Jonathan Burrows (born December 31, 1942), is an American film and theater producer and a restaurateur. His is best known for producing the 1985 American neo-noir comedy thriller film Fletch.

Stage and film career

Burrows served as assistant stage director at New York City Opera in 1966.[1] He produced Fire! (1969), a musical that was short-lived, with 6 performances at the Longacre Theatre.[1][2] He was a producer for the off-Broadway plays Athol Fugard's Hello & Goodbye (1969, starring Martin Sheen & Colleen Dewhurst and directed by George C. Scott) and Contributions by Ted Shine (1970, starring Claudia McNeil), as well as the national tour of The Mad Show in 1968.[1] In 1969 he produced Fire!, a musical that was short-lived, with 6 performances at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway.[1][2]

He started in the film industry as an assistant director for David Lean on Ryan's Daughter (1970) and soon joined Columbia Pictures' executive training program. Burrows next worked as a production executive on A Delicate Balance, The Iceman Cometh, The Homecoming (all in 1973), Eugene Ionesco's Rhinoceros (1974), and The Man in the Glass Booth (1975).[1]

Following the publication of Gregory Mcdonald's novel Fletch in 1974, multiple attempts by Columbia Pictures to produce a film adaptation stalled, and eventually Burrows acquired the novel's film rights in 1976.[3] After Columbia Pictures passed on the film, Burrows shopped it around to every major studio in Hollywood, and some minor ones.[4] In 1985, Universal finally produced the film, and Burrows served as a producer. He was an associate producer for Texasville (Columbia Pictures, 1990).[1]

In 2014, Burrows partnered in the revival of Cole Porter's 1953 musical Can-Can for the Paper Mill Playhouse in Milburn, New Jersey.[1]

Restaurateur

Between 2000 and 2013, he owned Mr. Cecil's California Ribs, three BBQ restaurants in Los Angeles.[5][6][7] The Los Angeles Times called his food “plates of meat to dream about". The second Mr. Cecil’s opened in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, and the third in Manhattan Beach, California.[7]

During this period he cooked at events throughout the country, including NYC's Big Apple BBQ Block Party in 2008.[8]

Personal life

Burrows is married to Annie Burrows. His father was Selig Burrows, on whose nickname "Cecil", Jonathan named his restaurant Cecil's California Ribs. Jonathan is a cousin of James Burrows and the nephew of Abe Burrows.[7][9]

Burrows is a polo enthusiast and owner of the Mr. Cecil’s California Ribs polo team. In 2005, the team won the Pope Challenge Finals, and in 2010, the 12-goal season in Santa Barbara, the Vic Graber Memorial and the USPA 12-goal Intercircuit tournaments.[10][11][12] In 1985, he arranged a charity match with the Maharajah of Patiala's team from Punjab, India at the East River Park, New York.[13] In 2016, he played in the host Santa Barbara team against the Maharaja of Jaipur's Royal Jaipur Team.[14]

Filmography

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Everson, Emily (2014-09-21). "Papermill to Open the Season With Rousing Production of "Can-Can"". Millburn-Short Hills, NJ Patch. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Fire!", Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved May 23, 2023
  3. ↑ "AFI Catalog - Fletch". afi.com. American Film Institute. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Douglas at 67: Intense". Los Angeles Times. August 2, 1984. Retrieved 2021-06-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Kevin Roderick (31 December 2011). "More restaurant closures plus a couple of newbies". laobserved.com. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  6. ↑ "The Mr. Cecil's story". mrcecilscaribs.com. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  7. 1 2 3 "Merrill Shindler: BBQ at its best by the beach". Daily Bulletin. 2009-11-04. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  8. ↑ Jayanthi Daniel (5 June 2008). "A Block Party Unites the Nation's Barbecue Styles". nysun.com. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  9. ↑ "Paid Notice: Deaths BURROWS, SELIG S." The New York Times. 18 February 1997. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  10. ↑ "Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club Results". polobarn.com. May 2005. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  11. ↑ Paula Parisi (11 October 2010). "Splashy End to SoCal Polo". theequestriannews.com. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  12. ↑ Marci Weiner (8 May 2017). "Microsol Launch Party & 30th Annual Gypsy Awards". entertainmenttoday.net. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  13. ↑ Thomas Rogers (1 May 1985). "SCOUTING; Polo in the Park". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  14. ↑ Gail Arnold (13 August 2016). "A Royal Party at the Polo Club". independent.com. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
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