Jim Abrahams, ‘Airplane’ Director and One-Third of Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker, Dead at 80

Jim Abrahams, the comedy legend who brought some of the most beloved movie quotes of all time into the zeitgeist as the co-director of “Airplane” and co-writer of “The Naked Gun,” has died of natural causes at the age of 80. The news was first broken by The Hollywood Reporter.

Born in Wisconsin in 1944, Abrahams is best known for his career-spanning collaboration with his childhood friends David and Jerry Zucker. Working under the moniker Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker, the three men developed a distinct brand of unapologetically goofy, gag-a-minute comedy that often spoofed other popular forms of media.

The trio broke through in 1977 when they co-wrote “The Kentucky Fried Movie,” a star-studded collection of sketches that lampooned many of the era’s lowbrow film genres, including Kung-fu movies and softcore porn. Directed by Max Landis, the film proved to be the perfect introduction to the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker sense of humor, in which landing the perfect one-liner was always more important than advancing plot.

The three men built on their initial success with what could be considered the biggest mainstream hit of their careers, “Airplane.” The film’s parody of self-serious disaster movies found a ravenous audience, and marked the first time Leslie Nielsen starred in a Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker project. Nielsen’s stone-faced demeanor made him the perfect straight man for the trio, and he went on to star in their short-lived sitcom “Police Squad” and its hit film spin-off “The Naked Gun: From the Files of the Police Squad,” which also spawned two sequels and an upcoming reboot.

Abrahams was credited as both a co-writer and co-director on “Airplane” and the “Police Squad” pilot, as well as the trio’s films “Top Secret!” and “Ruthless People.” He stepped back from the director’s chair for “The Naked Gun” but received a co-writing credit.

In the 1990s, Abrahams branched out on his own and directed films such as “Hot Shots!” and “Mafia!” on his own. His final film credit was co-writing “Scary Movie 4” in 2006.

Abrahams is survived by his wife Nancy Cocuzzo, his daughter Jamie, and sons Joseph and Charlie.