“Airplane!”, “Naked Gun” and “Police Squad!” The king of comedy was 80 years old

Jim Abrahamspart of the team of writers, directors and producers behind comedies like Touchstone Plane!, the Naked weapon movies and Police squad!died Tuesday at his home in Santa Monica. He was 80 years old.

His son, Joseph Abrahams, confirmed the news to our sister site The Hollywood Reporter.

Along with brothers David and Jerry ZuckerAbrahams was also the creator of laugh-out-loud – and often intentionally groan-inducing – comedy films, including Top secret! and The best gun parodies Hot shots! AND Hot shots! Part of Deux. Students of the Mel Brooks School of Everything for a Laugh, the trio combined absurd situations with serious issues and contributed to Leslie Nielsen’s unlikely rise to leading man after 30 years in the industry.

The trio started writing on the big screen “Kentucky Fried” movie. (1977), a series of decidedly un-PC vignettes directed by John Landis that range from silly to raucous to “What the hell?!” and back. Example: From behind the desk, a TV news anchor says with a serious face: “I’m not wearing any pants. Movie at 11.” A few independently taken photos, risky and brazenly primitive sketches, it would be inappropriate to describe the details today.

But it was 1980 when everything changed for Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker.

Also known simply as “ZAZ”, his trio attacked the Paramount Theaters Plane!an uncompromising send-up of ’70s disaster films in which Nielsen starred alongside Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty and a cameo cast of ’50s and ’60s TV stars and others, always playing it straight. Who could forget fish-eating pilot Peter Graves, chatty passenger Barbara Billingsley, acerbic military veteran Robert Stack, or seething co-pilot Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? – Oh wait, that was Roger Murdock (wink).

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Comedy fans of a certain age – probably any age – love the film’s litany of quotes:

The list goes on.

Plane! was a commercial and critical hit and was later made New York TimesList of the 1000 greatest films ever made in 2003. The film earned a BAFTA nomination for best screenplay, a Golden Globe nomination for best comedy or musical, and a Writers Guild Award for best comedy in another medium. In 2010, the film was also added to the National Film Registry, ensuring the survival, protection and greater public accessibility of America’s film heritage.

The photo spawned a 1982 sequel that reunited most of the band and continued with knee- or face-slapping punchlines, unrepentant gags and slurred line readings – fourth wall be damned. It also led to this Police squad! the brilliant but short-lived 1982 ABC comedy series starred Nielsen as Los Angeles Police Detective Frank Drebin and earned Abrahams and the Zuckers an Emmy nomination for writing.

Fast forward to 1988 and Nielsen’s Drebin – now a lieutenant – hit the big screen in Naked weapon, all put together Plane!a shameless joke with elements of Brooks and Buck Henry‘S Be smart! crossed with 1970s police dramas. With subtitles From the files of the Police Station!The film starred Priscilla Presley as Drebin’s love interest OJ Simpson as his accident-prone cop buddy and borrowed a few jokes from the show, which spoofed Queen Elizabeth’s visit to the US.

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Impeccably coiffed and put together, Drebin and his company returned in 1991 Naked Weapon 2½: The Smell of Fear and again in 1994 with Naked gun 33⅓. The trilogy grossed over $216 million worldwide reboot starring Liam Neeson and directed by Lonely Island’s Akiv Schaffer is scheduled to hit theaters in August.

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Along the way, Abrahams and his childhood friends the Zucker brothers continued to transform parody knives into unsuspecting species, distorting the spy game with Top secret! (1984) with Val Kilmer and stars such as Omar Sharif (!) and The best gun With Hot shots! (1991), starring Charlie Sheen and Cary Elwes Plane! graduate Lloyd Bridges, Efrem Zimbalist and others. Hot shots! Part of Deux and a sequel followed in 1993, and in total the films grossed over $312 million worldwide.

Born on May 10, 1944 in Shorewood, Wisconsin, Abrahams was also a director Big business (1988) and, in the case of the Zuckers, the summer of 1986 Ruthless People. He wrote and directed a package dealing with organized crime in 1998 Mafia! starring Jay Mohr and Bridges, and, in something of a departure from the genre, also directed the 1990 drama Welcome home, Roxy Charmichaelled by Winona Ryder and Jeff Daniels.

Last year, a publication was published entitled You definitely can’t be seriousa memoir written by Abrahams and Zuckers about making Plane! which borrowed its title from the famous Hays line that became the basis for Nielsen’s more famous retort: ​​”I’m serious and don’t call me Shirley.”

In addition to his son, Joseph, survivors include Abrahams’ wife of nearly 50 years, Nancy Cocuzzo; son Charlie; daughter Jamie; and three grandchildren.