Courtesy of Jim Abrahams.
It's with heavy hearts we report the renowned director & writer Jim Abrahams, best known for his work on the hit spoof movies Airplane!, The Naked Gun, Top Secret & The Kentucky Fried Movie among others, has passed away at 80.
He died Tuesday of natural causes in his Santa Monica home & his son, Joseph Abrahams, confirmed the news to the Hollywood Reporter.
Remembering the life & Legacy of Jim Abrahams.
Abrahams, along with his frequent collaborators David Zucker and Jerry Zucker, created a comedy revolution for the spoof & parody genre of filmmaking where they became legends for their joke-filled and laden with sight gags and puns. They were all childhood friends who grew up together in Milwaukee, WI & together were simply known as "ZAZ."
The Kentucky Fried Movie was his & the Zucker Brothers' first feature length film together as writers. And in it, with the help of director John Landis, the film was a breakout for them as a memorable series of absurd, vulgar and (mostly) wildly funny send-ups & skits of popular culture.
The trio's acclaim became even more widespread from their three signature films Airplane!, Top Secret, & The Naked Gun. Without those films, we wouldn't have gotten the infamous Scary Movie franchise & today's top satire films & shows. The Naked Gun has a reboot that's set to release next year with Liam Neeson starring as a new Frank Drebin with The Lonely Island's Akiva Schaffer directing & Seth Macfarlane producing.
Last year, the trio saw the release of their audiobook & memoir Surely You Can't Be Serious, which took a closer look at the making of Airplane!. The book's title is inspired by the signature line said by Robert Hays to Leslie Nielson's characters: "Surely you can't be serious. I am serious, and don’t call me Shirley."
Along with son Joseph, survivors include Abrahams’ wife of nearly 50 years, Nancy Cocuzzo; son Charlie; daughter Jamie; and three grandchildren.
