‘Airplane!’ and ‘The Naked Gun’ writer-director Jim Abrahams dead at 80

Posted On November 27, 2024November 27, 2024

Writer and director Jim Abrahams has died aged 80. Alongside brothers Jerry and David Zucker, Abrahams was a major name in the comedy world due to his genre-shaking spoof films.

Born in Shorewood, Wisconsin, Abrahams grew up attending the same school as the Zucker brothers. They were close from a young age and went on to attend the same university, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where they started their own small theatre, The Kentucky Fried Theater, in 1971. This led to their debut sketch comedy film, The Kentucky Fried Movie, which established them as new names to note in the genre. 

Immediately after, the trio released the film Airplane!, which would be their breakthrough hit. The 1980 disaster comedy was a huge success, grossing $171 million worldwide against a budget of $3.5 million and giving the three filmmakers several award nominations, cementing their position as the new leaders of comedy. 

From then on, the trio made several hit films together, including The Naked Gun, Top Secret!, Ruthless People and more.

Their style was noted for its lighthearted silliness, with Abrahams stating, “There were a bunch of groups in that era who were making political jokes, and there were lots of easy, obvious targets.” he added, “But that was just never our instinct. Our instinct was always to watch a movie and say, ‘Isn’t’ that silly?’”

All three members of the group also established themselves as solo workers. Outside of the trio, Abrahams directed films like Big Business and was brought in as a writer on Scary Movie 4, having already established himself as one of comedy’s finest talents. 

Abrahams’ love for comedy was passed down to one of his daughters, Jamie Abrahams, who is now also a comedy writer. He and his wife, Nancy Cocuzzo, have three children: Jamie, Joseph, and Charlie. He’s also survived by three grandchildren, Caleb, James, and Isaac.

Abrahams died of natural causes at his home in Santa Monica, his son Joseph told The Hollywood Reporter. For 20 years, the writer and director was battling leukaemia, and on November 26th, 2024, he passed away.

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