Jim Abrahams, one of many inventive minds behind such comedies as Airplane!, three Bare Gun motion pictures, and the TV sequence Police Squad!, died November 26, 2024, at his Santa Monica, California residence, Deadline stories. He was 80 years outdated.
Abrahams was born Could 10, 1944, in Shorewood, WI. He grew up with the brothers David and Jerry Zucker, and the trio — sometimes called “ZAZ” — obtained their begin in Hollywood with The Kentucky Fried Film. Written by ZAZ and directed by John Landis, the movie consists of a sequence of crude, generally offensive vignettes — one thing which, by trendy requirements, may by no means be made at the moment. Abrahams and the Zucker brothers appeared within the film alongside James Bond actor George Lazenby, Donald Sutherland, and The Unimaginable Hulk star Invoice Bixby, amongst others.
The trio obtained their huge break in 1980 with Airplane!, a send-up of ’70s catastrophe flicks like Airport and The Poseidon Journey. Starring Leslie Nielsen, Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Robert Stack, Peter Graves, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and a number of hilarious cameos, Airplane! was a crucial and business success, and it is one of the crucial beloved comedies ever made. It obtained a BAFTA Award nomination for greatest screenplay, a Golden Globe nomination for greatest movement image comedy or musical, and a Writers Guild Award for greatest comedy tailored from one other medium (many do not notice Airplane! is a unfastened and really foolish remake of the 1957 motion movie Zero Hour!).
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A Profession Wealthy in Comedy
In 1982 — the identical yr as Airplane 2: The Sequel hit theaters — Abrahams and the Zucker brothers unleashed Police Squad! onto unsuspecting tv viewers. Starring Nielsen as Los Angeles cop Frank Drebin, the sequence was finally canceled after six episodes, however it could result in maybe the most important hit of all for ZAZ, the 1988 movie The Bare Gun: From the Information of Police Squad! Nielsen returned for the big-screen re-imagining of the sequence, which additionally starred Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy, and, infamously, O.J. Simpson. The movie generated two sequels — The Bare Gun 2½: The Scent of Concern in 1991 and The Bare Gun 33⅓ in 1994 — and grossed greater than $216 million globally.
ZAZ additionally produced Prime Secret!, a spoof of spy movies starring Val Kilmer and Omar Sharif, in addition to Ruthless Individuals, starring Bette Middler and Danny DeVito. On his personal, Abrahams created the comedies Mafia! (a tackle The Godfather and different photos about organized crime), and the 2 Sizzling Photographs movies, the primary lampooning Prime Gun, the second Rambo. He re-teamed with David Zucker for Scary Film 4. In a profession departure in 1191, nonetheless, Abrahams directed the quirky dramedy Welcome Dwelling, Roxy Carmichael, starring Winona Ryder and Jeff Daniels.
Abrahams is survived by his spouse of almost 50 years, Nancy Cocuzzo; sons Joseph and Charlie; daughter Jamie; and three grandchildren. Relaxation in peace to an absolute legend and voice of a comedy technology.
Airplane!
- Launch Date
- July 2, 1980
- Runtime
- 88 minutes
- Writers
- Arthur Hailey , Corridor Bartlett , John C. Champion , Jim Abrahams , David Zucker , Jerry Zucker
- Price range
- $3.5 million
- Studio(s)
- Paramount Footage
- Distributor(s)
- Paramount Footage