Jim Abrahams, a writer-producer-director who partnered with childhood friends Jerry and David Zucker to create slapstick comedy classics including “Airplane!,” “Police Squad!” and “The Naked Gun,” died Tuesday at age 80.
His son, Joseph, told The Hollywood Reporter that Abrahams died at his Santa Monica home of natural causes.
A Wisconsin native, Abrahams teamed with the Zucker brothers to create the Kentucky Fried Theater sketch comedy troupe in the 1970s, and the resulting material was later combined into a film titled “Kentucky Fried Movie,” directed by a young John Landis.
The trio later applied their slapstick humor to parody a 1950s disaster film titled “Zero Hour,” leading to the creation of the 1980 comedy smash “Airplane!,” which included a host of major dramatic stars including Lloyd Bridges, Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves and Robert Stack in a film peppered with absurdist puns and sight gags that went on to become one of the most hailed comedy films of all time.
The film earned the trio a Writers Guild of America Award for best comedy screenplay adapted from another medium.
Similar works followed, including the Nielsen-starring TV series “Police Squad!,” which evolved into “The Naked Gun” film series. The group also produced “Top Secret!,” a war-time parody starring a young Val Kilmer; and “Hot Shots!,” which starred Charlie Sheen in a parody of “Top Gun.”
The trio earned an Emmy nomination in 1982 for comedy series writing for “Police Squad!”
Along the way, Abrahams also directed films including “Ruthless People” and “Big Business,” both starring Bette Midler, and “Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael,” starring Winona Ryder and Jeff Daniels.
Abrahams is survived by his wife, Nancy Cocuzzo; his daughter, Jamie; sons Joseph and Charlie; and grandchildren Caleb, James and Isaac.