David Zucker

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David Zucker
David Zucker at Improv Boston.jpg
Zucker in 2016
Born
David Samuel Zucker

(1947-10-16) October 16, 1947 (age 76)
Occupation(s)Film director, film producer, screenwriter
Years active1976–present
Spouse
Danielle Ardolino
(m. 1997;div. 2019)
Children2
Family Jerry Zucker (brother)

David Samuel Zucker (born October 16, 1947) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Associated mostly with parody comedies, Zucker is recognized for collaborating with Jim Abrahams and his brother Jerry as part of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker, with whom he wrote and directed the 1980 film Airplane! and created The Naked Gun franchise. As a solo filmmaker, Zucker has also directed Scary Movie 3 (2003) and Scary Movie 4 (2006).

Contents

Career

Zucker's movies include The Kentucky Fried Movie in 1977, Ruthless People in 1986, The Naked Gun in 1988, The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear in 1991, BASEketball in 1998, Scary Movie 3 in 2003, and its sequel Scary Movie 4 in 2006. Of 18 works with which he is associated, Phone Booth , which he produced in 2002 is the only non-comedic film.

He co-directed several films including Airplane! in 1980 and Top Secret! in 1984; along with his brother, Jerry, and Jim Abrahams, the trio make up the ZAZ team of directors. He has worked with Pat Proft (with whom he first teamed up on the Naked Gun show Police Squad! ) and Craig Mazin (writer of three of the five Scary Movies ). In 1987, both David and Jerry Zucker through Zucker Brothers Productions signed an agreement with Paramount Pictures for a two-year non-exclusive production agreement and development deal with the studio, and the brothers had anticipated on making four comedies for Paramount Pictures during the life of the pact. The first film was a feature film version of the early 1980s television show Police Squad! , which was originally cancelled after six episodes on the air. [1]

ZAZ and Proft helped develop the parody genre of films, in which jokes are spit out with rapid-fire, using puns, physical humor, wit, and double entendres. Some of the veteran actors of ZAZ's vision of parody include Leslie Nielsen, Lloyd Bridges, Charlie Sheen, Julie Hagerty, and Anna Faris (Faris starred in four of the Scary Movie series).

Looking back on his career in 2009, Leslie Nielsen said the best film he appeared in was The Naked Gun, and that David was his favorite director to work with. Nielsen said of him, "He came to me one time and said, 'Leslie, I'll never make you do anything that is not funny.' ... he kept his word." [2] Most consider his greatest work to be Airplane!, which has brought on many accolades (including preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress).

In his movies, his mother, Charlotte was often cast in a small bit part (like the lady trying to put on make-up in Airplane! and Vincent Ludwig's secretary, Dominique, in The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! ).

David Zucker is an aficionado of Davy Crockett and collects memorabilia. He has said that his dream project is to make a biographical film, which he has spent time developing. [3] [4] During the 1990s he regularly hosted a Davy Crockett Rifle Frolic at his ranch in Ojai, California. [5] [4] Zucker wrote 11 updated verses to the song "The Ballad of Davy Crockett", which he claimed in 1992 that he had worked harder on those than on any of his scripts. [5] He made a cameo appearance in The Naked Gun 2½ dressed as Crockett. [3]

Zucker began to focus more on politics starting in 2004 when he began working on political ads for the Republican Party. [6] In 2008, he made the political parody movie An American Carol . [7] In 2015, he made a video he called Side Effects attacking President Barack Obama for the Iran nuclear deal in the form of a parody prescription drug ad. [8] In 2017, Zucker said that he was working on a script for a fourth Naked Gun film with Pat Proft. In 2018 he made a cameo appearance on the hidden camera TV series Impractical Jokers , where he was on FaceTime with cast member James Murray in a sketch trying to make the other person laugh. [9]

In 2021, Zucker announced his return to filmmaking with a new spoof film titled The Star of Malta. [10]

Personal life

Zucker was born to a Jewish family [11] in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Charlotte Zucker and Burton C. Zucker, who was a real estate developer. [12] [13] He graduated from Shorewood High School. [14] In 1997, David married Danielle Zucker, with whom he has two children, Charles and Sarah. [15] He and Danielle were divorced in 2019, although they had been separated for ten years before that. [16] His younger brother, Jerry, is his filmmaking partner. The Zucker brothers have a sister, Susan Breslau. When asked in a September 2014 interview by the BBC if he believes in God, David replied:

Oh yeah, I believe in God. I think there's much more evidence that there is a God than that there isn't. I don't believe that Mother Teresa and Hitler go to the same place. I believe in justice, maybe not in this life, but there has to be justice. And if there isn't a God, I think it would be very depressing. I'd prefer to believe there is. [17]

Environmentalism

David Zucker has been an active supporter of TreePeople since 1988 and is now the longest continuously serving board member (1990) in the organization's history. [18]

He has been an advocate of solar-powered and electric cars since the '90s. "I can't complain about the smog in Los Angeles if I'm contributing to it," Zucker said to the Sun Sentinel in 1990. [19]

Recurring cast members

Among all of his directed and/or produced parody films, Zucker had frequently cast the late Leslie Nielsen.

Actor Airplane!
Ruthless People
Naked Gun: From
the Files of
Police Squad!

The Naked Gun
2½: The
Smell of Fear

BASEketball
My Boss'
Daughter

Scary Movie 3
Scary Movie 4
An American
Carol

Scary Movie 5
Anthony Anderson Black x.svgBlack x.svg
Carmen Electra Black x.svgBlack x.svg
Anna Faris Black x.svgBlack x.svg
Regina Hall Black x.svgBlack x.svg
Kevin Hart Black x.svgBlack x.svg
George Kennedy Black x.svgBlack x.svg
Michael Madsen Black x.svgBlack x.svg
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Black x.svgBlack x.svg
Robert Stack Black x.svgBlack x.svg
Jenny McCarthy Black x.svgBlack x.svg
Edward Moss Black x.svgBlack x.svg
Leslie Nielsen Black x.svgBlack x.svgBlack x.svgBlack x.svgBlack x.svgBlack x.svg
Priscilla Presley Black x.svgBlack x.svg
Bill Pullman Black x.svgBlack x.svg
Simon Rex Black x.svgBlack x.svgBlack x.svgBlack x.svg
Molly Shannon Black x.svgBlack x.svgBlack x.svg
Charlie Sheen Black x.svgBlack x.svgBlack x.svg
O. J. Simpson Black x.svgBlack x.svg
Ed Williams Black x.svgBlack x.svg

Filmography

Films

YearTitleFunctioned asNotes
Director Writer Producer
1977 The Kentucky Fried Movie NoYesNowith Jim Abrahams & Jerry Zucker
1980 Airplane! YesYesExecutive
1984 Top Secret! YesYesExecutive
1986 Ruthless People YesNoNo
1988 The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! YesYesExecutive
1991 The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear YesYesNo
1992 Brain Donors NoNoExecutive
1993 For Goodness Sake YesYesYesShort film
1994 Naked Gun 33+13: The Final Insult NoYesYes
1995 A Walk in the Clouds NoNoYes
1996 High School High NoYesYes
For Goodness Sake IINoNoExecutiveShort film
1998 BASEketball YesYesYesAlso executive music producer
2002 Phone Booth NoNoYes
2003 My Boss's Daughter YesNoNoAlso wrote early draft screenplay
Scary Movie 3 YesNoNo
2006 Scary Movie 4 YesNoNo
2008 An American Carol YesYesYes
The Onion Movie NoNoYes
Superhero Movie NoNoYes
2013 Scary Movie 5 NoYesYesAlso directed additional scenes
TBAThe Star of Malta [20] YesYesYes

Acting roles

YearTitleRoleNote
1977 The Kentucky Fried Movie Man / Technician #2 / Grunwald
1980 Airplane! Ground Crewman #2
1984 Top Secret! German Soldier in Prop Room
1991 The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear Davy Crockett
1994 Naked Gun 33+13: The Final Insult Teleprompter Guy
1995 Your Studio and You HimselfShort film
1998 BASEketball Man with Shooting Hot Dog
2006 Scary Movie 4 ZoltarVoice role
2013 Scary Movie 5 Packer Fan
Other credits
YearTitleRole
2019MOSSAD!Creative consultant

Television

TV series

YearTitleFunctioned asNotes
CreatorProducerWriter
1976 Big John, Little John NoNoYeswriter of episode "Abracadabra" with Jim Abrahams & Jerry Zucker
1982 Police Squad! YesExecutiveYesdirector and writer of episode "A Substantial Gift (The Broken Promise)" with Jim Abrahams & Jerry Zucker

Other work

YearTitleFunctioned asNotes
DirectorWriterProducer
1987Our Planet TonightNoNoExecutiveTV movie
2000H.U.D.YesYesExecutiveUnaired TV series pilot
Absolutely TrueNoNoExecutive
2019 Late Night Berlin NoNoCreativeEpisode "Folge 42"

Acting roles

YearTitleRoleNote
1972 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson PerformerPart as Kentucky Fried Theater in one episode
1974 The Midnight Special
2018 Impractical Jokers HimselfEpisode: "Out of Left Field"
2020Impractical Jokers: Dinner PartyEpisode: "The Soup's On Episode"

Songwriter

Related Research Articles

<i>Airplane!</i> 1980 American satirical comedy film

Airplane! is a 1980 American disaster comedy film written and directed by Jim Abrahams and brothers David and Jerry Zucker in their directorial debuts, and produced by Jon Davison. It stars Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty and features Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Lorna Patterson. It is a parody of the disaster film genre, particularly the 1957 Paramount film Zero Hour!, from which it borrows its plot, central characters, and some dialogue. It also draws many elements from Airport 1975 and other films in the Airport series. It is known for its use of surreal humor and fast-paced slapstick comedy, including visual and verbal puns, gags, running jokes, and dark humor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leslie Nielsen</span> Canadian actor (1926–2010)

Leslie William Nielsen was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters.

A parody film or spoof film is a subgenre of comedy film that lampoons other film genres or films as pastiches, works created by imitation of the style of many different films reassembled together. Although the subgenre is often overlooked by critics, parody films are commonly profitable at the box office. Parody is related to satire, except that "parody is more often a representation of appreciation, while a satire is more often...pointing ...out the major flaws of an object through ridicule." J.M. Maher notes that the "difference is not always clear" and points out that "some films employ both techniques". Parody is found in a range of art and culture, including literature, music, theater, television, animation, and gaming.

<i>The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!</i> 1988 film directed by David Zucker

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! is a 1988 American crime comedy film directed by David Zucker, and produced and released by Paramount Pictures. The film stars Leslie Nielsen as the bumbling police lieutenant Frank Drebin, who sets out to uncover a criminal plot involving people being mind controlled to assassinate targets. Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalbán, George Kennedy, and O. J. Simpson also star in supporting roles.

<i>Police Squad!</i> 1982 American television crime comedy series

Police Squad! is an American television crime comedy series that was broadcast on the ABC network in 1982. It was created by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, starring Leslie Nielsen as Frank Drebin. A spoof of police procedurals and many other television shows and movies, the series features Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker's usual sight gags, wordplay, and non sequiturs. It resembles the Lee Marvin police show M Squad and the late 1960s series Felony Squad. It was canceled after six episodes, and yielded The Naked Gun film series from 1988 to 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Zucker</span> American director and producer

Jerry Gordon Zucker is an American film producer, director, and writer known for his role in directing comedy spoof films such as Airplane! and Top Secret!, and the Best Picture-nominated supernatural drama film Ghost. He and his older brother, David Zucker, collaborated on several films.

<i>The Kentucky Fried Movie</i> 1977 American independent anthology sketch black comedy film by John Landis

The Kentucky Fried Movie is a 1977 American independent anthology sketch black comedy film, produced by Kim Jorgensen, Larry Kostroff, and Robert K. Weiss, and directed by John Landis. Among the numerous star cameos are George Lazenby, Bill Bixby, Henry Gibson, Barry Dennen, Donald Sutherland, Tony Dow, Stephen Bishop, and the voice of Shadoe Stevens. According to writer David Zucker on the DVD commentary track, David Letterman auditioned for the role of the newscaster, but was not selected. The film also features many former members of The Groundlings and The Second City. The "feature presentation" portion of the film stars Evan C. Kim and hapkido grand master Bong Soo Han. The Kentucky Fried Movie marked the first film appearances of a number of actors who later became famous, and launched the careers of the Zucker brothers, Abrahams and Landis.

<i>Top Secret!</i> 1984 film directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker

Top Secret! is a 1984 action comedy film written and directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker (ZAZ) and Martyn Burke. It stars Val Kilmer and Lucy Gutteridge alongside a supporting cast featuring Omar Sharif, Peter Cushing, Michael Gough, and Jeremy Kemp. The film parodies various film styles such as musicals starring Elvis Presley, spy films of the Cold War era and World War II films. The original music score was composed by Maurice Jarre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Abrahams</span> American movie director and writer

James S. Abrahams is an American film director and writer, best known as a member of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker.

Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker were an American comedy filmmaking trio consisting of Jim Abrahams and brothers David and Jerry Zucker who specialised in writing slapstick comedy films during the 1980s. Members of the team have often collaborated with writer Pat Proft.

Pat Proft is an American comedy writer, actor, and director. Born in Minnesota in 1947, Proft began his career at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis in the mid-1960s. He went on to perform as a one-man comedy act in the late 1960s. In 1972, Proft began working at The Comedy Store in Hollywood which led to work in television and film writing for the Smothers Brothers and Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker.

<i>Wrongfully Accused</i> 1998 film by Pat Proft

Wrongfully Accused is a 1998 satirical comedy film written, produced and directed by Pat Proft and starring Leslie Nielsen as a man who has been framed for murder and desperately attempts to expose the true culprits. The film is a parody of the 1993 film The Fugitive, and also parodies numerous other films.

<i>Naked Gun 33 <sup>1</sup>/<sub>3</sub>: The Final Insult</i> 1994 film directed by Peter Segal

Naked Gun 33+13: The Final Insult is a 1994 American crime comedy film directed by Peter Segal and written by Pat Proft, David Zucker and Robert LoCash. The film is the third and final installment in The Naked Gun film series, which was based on the television series Police Squad!. The Final Insult is the only film in the series that is not directed by David Zucker, with him serving as producer and co-writer instead. Police Squad! co-creators Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker returned as executive producers.

<i>Spy Hard</i> Film by Rick Friedberg

Spy Hard is a 1996 American spy parody film starring Leslie Nielsen and Nicollette Sheridan, parodying James Bond and other action films. The introduction to the film is sung by comedy artist "Weird Al" Yankovic, and it was the first film to be written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, who went on to write and direct parody films such as Date Movie, Disaster Movie, and Meet the Spartans. The film's title is a parody of Die Hard. The film was directed by Rick Friedberg who produced with Doug Draizin and Jeffrey Konvitz.

<i>Brain Donors</i> 1992 American film directed by Dennis Dugan

Brain Donors is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and released by Paramount Pictures, loosely based on the Marx Brothers comedies A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races. The film co-stars John Turturro, Mel Smith, and Bob Nelson in the approximations of the Groucho, Chico, and Harpo roles, with Nancy Marchand in the Margaret Dumont dowager role. It was executive produced by David and Jerry Zucker, through their Zucker Brothers Productions.

<i>The Naked Gun</i> American crime comedy film series

The Naked Gun media franchise consists of several American crime spoof-comedies, based on an original story written by the comedy filmmaking trio Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker. The installments include one television series and three theatrical films. The plot centers on a police detective with a lot of heart, despite being less than intelligent. Leslie Nielsen stars in each installment in the protagonist role of Detective Sergeant Franklin "Frank" Drebin, with a fourth film starring Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr. scheduled for release in 2025. The franchise was met with mostly positive critical reception, and the films were a financial box office success.

Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer are American and Canadian filmmakers. They have primarily worked on parody films, which they began writing and directing during the mid-2000s. Friedberg and Seltzer's first five films between 2006 and 2010 received wide theatrical releases to mostly commercial success, but universally negative reviews; their films Epic Movie (2007), Meet the Spartans and Disaster Movie are considered among the worst ever made. Following Vampires Suck (2010), their subsequent releases in the 2010s garnered less attention, largely due to their limited theatrical distribution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Drebin</span> Fictional character

Franklin "Frank" Drebin is a fictional character in the Police Squad! television series and The Naked Gun movies played by Leslie Nielsen.

<i>Superhero Movie</i> 2008 film by Craig Mazin

Superhero Movie is a 2008 American superhero parody film written and directed by Craig Mazin, produced by Robert K. Weiss and David Zucker, and starring Drake Bell, Sara Paxton, Christopher McDonald, and Leslie Nielsen. It was originally titled Superhero! as a nod to one of the Zuckers's previous films, Airplane! (1980), in which Nielsen also starred.

The Naked Gun is an upcoming American crime comedy film directed by Akiva Schaffer, who co-wrote the screenplay by Dan Gregor, Doug Mand, Mark Hentemann, and Alec Sulkin based on an original story written by Seth MacFarlane, who produced alongside Erica Huggins. Serving as the fourth film, and fifth overall installment in The Naked Gun franchise, the film stars Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr, alongside Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Kevin Durand, Danny Huston, Liza Koshy, Cody Rhodes, CCH Pounder, and Busta Rhymes.

References

  1. "Zucker Bros. Sign A 2-Year Par Pact". Variety . October 7, 1987. pp. 4, 119.
  2. McEvoy, Colin (March 28, 2009). "Leslie Nielsen here? Surely you jest! MOVIE STAR SITS DOWN with students to kick off DeSales festival. And don't call him Shirley". The Express-Times . p. A1.
  3. 1 2 Marx, Andy (November 17, 1991). "You Mean Leslie Nielsen Won't Play Davy Crockett?". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  4. 1 2 Holley, Joe (April 28, 2017). "Lighter side of Davy Crockett a serious pursuit to movie producer". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  5. 1 2 Marx, Andy (December 3, 1992). "Dressing up, getting down at Davy Crockett Rifle Frolic". Daily Variety . p. 19.
  6. Ballon, Marc (October 5, 2006). "Comedy director David Zucker goes to GOP? You can't be serious!". Jewish Journal. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  7. Corliss, Richard (December 22, 2008). "Top 10 Worst Christmas Movies". Time via entertainment.time.com.
  8. "Airplane! Director's Attempt to Satirize Iran Deal Is Laughably Bad". www.mediaite.com. September 15, 2015.
  9. Skubish, Jake (March 30, 2017). "Director David Zucker talks "Airplane!", comedy, getting his start on campus". Daily Cardinal . Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  10. Kit, Borys (November 11, 2021). "'Naked Gun' Co-Creator David Zucker to Spoof Noir Movies With 'Star of Malta' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  11. Desser, David; Friedman, Lester D. (2004). American Jewish Filmmakers. University of Illinois Press. p. 166. ISBN   9780252071539.
  12. "David Zucker Biography (1947-)". www.filmreference.com.
  13. "Charlotte A. Zucker's Obituary on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  14. "25 years and still laughing: 'Airplane!' maintains its cruising altitude with a non-stop zany attitude" Archived April 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine , Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , June 11, 2005. Accessed September 17, 2007. "The event is in honor of the volunteer service and philanthropy of Louise Abrahams Yaffe and her son Jim Abrahams, who wrote and directed "Airplane!" with fellow Shorewood High School and University of Wisconsin–Madison graduates David and Jerry Zucker."
  15. Stein, Jeannine (August 27, 1997). "Home Weddings Add a Touch of the Heart". Los Angeles Times.
  16. "Director David Zucker's divorce petition at risk of dismissal". hollywood.com. March 26, 2019.
  17. Hennigan, Adam. "Calling the Shots: No.11: David Zucker". BBC . Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  18. "Board of Directors". treepeople.org. Archived from the original on April 9, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  19. "INTEREST IN ELECTRIC CARS SURGES SPIRALING GAS PRICES, AIR POLLUTION SPARK PRODUCTION, PROTOTYPES". sunsentinel.com. October 7, 1990. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  20. "'Naked Gun' Creator David Zucker to Spoof Noir Movies Next With 'The Star of Malta'". Collider. November 12, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.