
Jim Abrahams
Writer
Born: May 10, 1944 (80 years old)
Died: November 26, 2024
Place of birth: Shorewood, Wisconsin, USA
Biography
Jim Abrahams (May 10, 1944 – November 26, 2024) was an American movie director and writer. Abrahams was born in Shorewood, Wisconsin, to a Jewish family, and attended Shorewood High School. He was known for the spoof movies that he co-wrote and produced with brothers Jerry Zucker and David Zucker, such as Airplane! (for which he was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay) and The Naked Gun series. The team of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker (also referred to as "ZAZ") really began when the three men grew up together in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Abrahams later produced movies on his own such as Big Business, and further honed his skills in parody with Hot Shots! and its 1993 sequel Hot Shots! Part Deux.
Filmography (22)
- Airplane! (1980, ★ 7.3)
- Top Secret! (1984, ★ 7.1)
- Kareem: Minority of One (2015, ★ 7.2)
- Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022, ★ 7.6)
- The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988, ★ 7.3)
- Police Squad! (1982, ★ 7.9)
- Coming to America (1988, ★ 6.9)
- The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977, ★ 6.2)
- FAT: A Documentary (2019, ★ 6.2)
- Scary Movie 4 (2006, ★ 5.5)
- Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael (1990, ★ 6.1)
- Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993, ★ 6.5)
- Ruthless People (1986, ★ 6.6)
- Hot Shots! (1991, ★ 6.6)
- ...First Do No Harm (1997, ★ 6.8)
- Big Business (1988, ★ 6.4)
- Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994, ★ 6.5)
- Brain Donors (1992, ★ 6.1)
- Cry-Baby (1990, ★ 6.5)
- The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991, ★ 6.8)
- Jane Austen's Mafia! (1998, ★ 5.5)
- The Naked Gun (2025, ★ 6.4)