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Airplane! is a 1980 American disaster comedy film written and directed by Jim Abrahams and brothers David and Jerry Zucker in their directorial debut, 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 the 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 using surreal humor and fast-paced slapstick comedy, including visual and verbal puns, gags, running jokes, and dark humor.
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.
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.
Police Squad! is an American crime comedy television 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.
Ruthless People is a 1986 American black comedy film directed by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker and written by Dale Launer. It stars Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Judge Reinhold, Anita Morris, and Helen Slater, with Bill Pullman in a supporting role in his film debut. The film is the story of a couple who kidnap their ex-boss's wife to get revenge and extort money from him. They soon realize he does not want her back and was planning to kill her himself. Meanwhile, the boss's mistress plans a blackmail attempt on him, which also fails to go as planned.
David Samuel Zucker 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).
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.
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.
James Steven Abrahams was an American film director and writer, best known as a member of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker.
Jeff Maxwell is an American film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for playing Pvt. Igor Straminsky, a recurring character in the television series M*A*S*H. He appeared in 83 episodes of the classic CBS comedy from 1973 to 1983, including the series finale Goodbye, Farewell and Amen, which aired February 28, 1983, and became the most-watched scripted broadcast in American history with over 121.6 million viewers and 50.1 million households tuning in.
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.
Naked Gun 33+1⁄3: 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.
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.
Stephen Stucker was an American actor, known for portrayals of bizarre characters, notably the manic control-room worker Johnny in the early 1980s Airplane! movies and the stenographer in the courtroom sequence of 1977's The Kentucky Fried Movie.
Mafia!, also known as Jane Austen's Mafia!, is a 1998 American crime comedy film directed by Jim Abrahams and starring Jay Mohr, Lloyd Bridges, Olympia Dukakis and Christina Applegate. It was Abrahams’ final directorial effort before his death in 2024.
Robert K. Weiss is an American film and television producer. His productions include films by director John Landis, producer Lorne Michaels and the "Z. A. Z." team of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker. He also co-created the science-fiction TV series Sliders. He is a graduate of Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
The Naked Gun, also known as Police Squad!, is a media franchise consisting 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, four theatrical films, and a video game. 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.
Franklin "Frank" Drebin is a fictional character in the Police Squad! television series and The Naked Gun movies played by Leslie Nielsen.
Shorewood High School is a comprehensive public high school located in the village of Shorewood, Wisconsin. It is part of the Shorewood School District.
Charlotte Ann Zucker was an American actress. She was the mother of filmmakers David and Jerry Zucker, and appeared in many of their films.
References
- ↑ "Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker, and why they went their separate ways as directors". Film Stories. September 3, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
- ↑ Koseluk, Chris (November 26, 2024). "Jim Abrahams, 'Airplane!,' 'Naked Gun' and 'Hot Shots!' Master of Mirth, Dies at 80". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved November 28, 2024.
- ↑ Pedersen, Erik (November 26, 2024). "Jim Abrahams Dies: 'Airplane!', 'Naked Gun' & 'Police Squad!' Writer-Director Was 80". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved November 28, 2024.
- ↑ Moreau, Jordan (November 26, 2024). "Jim Abrahams, Slapstick Icon Behind 'Airplane!,' 'Naked Gun' and More, Dies at 80". Variety . Retrieved November 28, 2024.
- ↑ Risen, Clay (November 27, 2024). "Jim Abrahams, 80, Dies; One of Trio Behind 'Airplane!' and 'Naked Gun'". The New York Times .
- ↑ Mendez, Malia (November 27, 2024). "Jim Abrahams, spoof-comedy great behind 'Airplane!' and 'Naked Gun' films, dies at 80". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved November 28, 2024.
- ↑ Big John, Little John - WGA Directory