Entertainment
Naked Gun and Airplane! director Jim Abrahams dies aged 80-Josie Copson-Entertainment – Metro
He made some of the highest-grossing comedies of the 1980s.
Naked Gun and Airplane! director Jim Abrahams has died aged 80 (Picture: GETTY / REX)
Legendary director and writer Jim Abrahams has died aged 80.
The co-creator of Naked Gun and Airplane! died from natural causes at his Santa Monica home on Tuesday.
Abrahams was married to wife Nancy (née Cocuzzo) and is survived by three children. His son Joseph confirmed his death to The Hollywood Reporter.
His collaborations with brothers Jerry and David Zucker led to Abrahams’ most famous works.
The trio, known as ZAZ, earned a Bafta award for Best Screenplay on spoof film Airplane! (1980), starring Leslie Neilson.
It grossed an incredible $83.5million (£66.5million)after being made from a budget of $3.5million (£2.7million). This made it the third biggest grossing comedy at the time.
Abrahams, on-set in 1991 for Hot Shots! (Picture: 20thCentFox/Everett/Shutterstock)
Their working relationship hit the mainstream in 1977, when they worked on Kentucky Fried Movie. But the three men had known each other a lot longer, having grown up together in Wisconsin.
They also grouped together for Top Secret! in 1984, and two years later, Ruthless People, which featured Danny DeVito and Bette Midler.
The movies became recognisable for their silly style, with nothing able to escape ridicule.
An example of their unique dialogue came when Rumack asked: ‘Can you fly this plane, and land it?’ in Airplane! When Ted Striker replied ‘Surely you can’t be serious,’ Rumack said: ‘I am serious… and don’t call me Shirley.’
The trio were known as ZAZ (Picture: Everett/Shutterstock)
On his own, Abrahams worked on Big Business, Hot Shots! and sequel, Hot Shots! Part Deux. On set with Charlie Sheen he further honed his parody skills.
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