Jim Abrahams, Co-Creator of ‘Airplane!’ and ‘Naked Gun,’ Dies at 80

Jim Abrahams speaks onstage at the screening of 'Top Secret!' during the 2017 TCM Classic Film Festival in Los Angeles on April 8, 2017. Charley Gallay/Getty Images for TCM

Jim Abrahams, a pioneering filmmaker known for his spoof comedy films such as “Airplane!” and the “Naked Gun” franchise, which he co-created alongside his childhood friends David and Jerry Zucker, has died at the age of 80.

David, 77, and Jerry, 74, grew up with the writer-director in their hometown of Shorewood, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. The elder Zucker confirmed Abrahams’s death in a statement shared online, noting that he passed away early Tuesday morning.

“He had been declining for the past year, and last night, Jerry and I visited for one last time,” David Zucker wrote in an Instagram post.

“He was unconscious but hopefully he heard us tell him how much we loved him. Through our tears, we are nonetheless grateful for the blessing of having known Jim and that he lived long enough to see our book published.”

Abrahams’s son Joseph told The Hollywood Reporter that his father died of natural causes at his home in Santa Monica, California.

Born on May 10, 1944, Abrahams graduated from Shorewood High School in 1962. He went on to attend the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where the Zucker brothers later enrolled.

In an October 2023 interview with Air Mail, David Zucker said the trio shared a self-deprecating sense of humor, which led them to form a comedy troupe, known as the Kentucky Fried Theater, in 1970 with their fellow college classmate Dick Chudnow.

“We’re all from Milwaukee,” David Zucker told the publication. “We knew we weren’t hot stuff. We weren’t L.A., or New York, or even Chicago hot. So we found it very natural to laugh at ourselves, and we shared this common point of view.”

The group’s slapstick comedy shows were a success, and after selling out local performances month after month, the troupe decided to bring their laugh-inducing sketches to Los Angeles.

In 1977, they released their first film, an indie sketch comedy titled “The Kentucky Fried Movie.” The movie was directed by John Landis, who went on to direct “Animal House” (1978) and “Three Amigos” (1986), among other blockbuster films.

Three years later, the filmmaking trio, known as ZAZ, or Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker, released their breakout comedy film “Airplane!” starring Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves, Lloyd Bridges, Julie Hagerty, and Robert Hays.

The filmmakers later recounted their journey creating the 1980 film in their book, “Surely You Can’t Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane!,” released in October 2023.

“I do believe that when ‘Airplane!’ is really clicking, it elevates stupidity to an art form,” Abrahams said in the tell-all. “I mean, we were writing dad jokes before they became an official category.”

After the success of “Airplane!,” Abrahams and the Zucker brothers went on to release a handful of other cult comedy classics throughout the 1980s, including the ABC sitcom “Police Squad!” (1982) and films “Top Secret!” (1984), “Ruthless People” (1986), and “The Naked Gun” (1988).

Abrahams also directed “Big Business” (1988), starring Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin, “Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael” (1990), starring Winona Ryder and Jeff Daniels, and “Hot Shots!” (1991), starring Charlie Sheen.

Tributes

Many of Abrahams’s colleagues, friends, and fans took to social media to honor his legacy in film.

“RIP Jim Abrahams,” Chicago-based reporter Marcus Leshock wrote on X alongside a clip from Abrahams’s “Top Secret!” film. “Thank you for one of the greatest scenes in movie history.”

“Jim Abrahams redefined the boundaries of humor through groundbreaking works like ‘Airplane!’ and ‘The Naked Gun’ series,” Journey Gunderson, executive director of the National Comedy Center, shared in a statement, according to Variety.

“Together with Jerry and David Zucker, he transformed satire into an art form, inspiring generations of comedians and filmmakers and leaving an indelible mark on the world of comedy.”

Actor Robert Hays wrote on X: “My friend Jim Abrahams passed away today. What a delight he was, in every way. We met on Airplane! 45 years ago.”

In addition to his son Joseph, Abrahams is survived by two other children, daughter Jamie and son Charlie, his wife of almost 50 years, Nancy Cocuzzo, and grandchildren Caleb, James, and Isaac.