Jim Abrahams, who co-created cult classic comedies such as “Airplane!” (1980), “Hot Shots!” (1991) and “The Naked Gun” trilogy (1988-1994), died of natural causes Tuesday at 80 years of age, his son Joseph confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.
The renowned filmmaker reportedly died at his home in Santa Monica, California.
Abrahams and his childhood friends Jerry and David Zucker arguably created the modern spoof movie, co-writing and directing “Airplane!” as a parody of disaster films before similarly subverting crime procedurals in the series “Police Squad!” (1982).
The trio ultimately adapted that series into a movie starring Leslie Nielsen, whose previous work was largely dramatic, spawning the beloved “Naked Gun” franchise. “Hot Shots!” and its 1993 sequel cheekily tackled action films like “Top Gun” and “First Blood.”
“Airplane!,” on a budget of $3.5 million, grossed $83.4 million at the domestic box office.
Abrahams, born James Steven Abrahams on May 10, 1944, and his friends — three Wisconsinites with no connections in Hollywood — had to carve their own path to find success, namely through sheer determination and shoestring budgets.
“We got our start filming stuff on our own and making spoofs of commercials,” Abrahams told Salon in 2023. “Back then, no one had cell phones, so we were unique — we had a video machine. We could film and edit and show it to other people to get their reactions.”
“That was the school we went to,” he continued at the time.
Abrahams did pursue a higher education after Shorewood High School, however, and graduated in 1966 from the local University of Wisconsin at Madison, per THR. The Zuckers, who were a few years younger, would attend the same schools as him.
They co-founded the Kentucky Fried Theatre in Madison in 1971 to perform their earliest sketches and improvise — and named their first film after it in 1977.
“The Kentucky Fried Movie” was a hit, but “Airplane!” made Abrahams and his friends into recognizable names. With traditionally dramatic actors Peter Graves, Lloyd Bridges and Nielsen playing it straight in ludicrous situations on-screen, the film bowled audiences over.
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From “the time we were kids, it was an instinct in us to do this kind of comedy,” Abrahams told Salon last year. “We saw how many things were taken seriously, especially in the media and TV and movies. Our instincts told us we don’t have to take that seriously.”
Abrahams’ legacy includes an Emmy nomination and a BAFTA nod.
After seeing his son Charlie’s epilepsy symptoms go away with a ketogenic diet of high-fat foods, Abrahams founded the Charlie Foundation for Ketogenic Therapies and produced and directed the film ”…First Do No Harm,” starring Meryl Streep, based on Charlie’s experience.
He wrote in an essay for the Cure Epilepsy organization that the experience made him determined to help others.
Abrahams is survived by his children, his wife Nancy, and his grandchildren.
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