Jim Abrahams

JIM ABRAHAMS

Date of birth: May 10, 1944

Born in Shorewood, Wisconsin, Jim Abrahams was making a living as a dick -- that's a private investigator to those whose minds are now in the gutter -- when he happened to bump into his childhood pals -- David and Jerry Zucker. The trio got to talking and laughing and decided to keep the party going by founding something they called the Kentucky Fried Theatre.

The show they put on mixed live improvised theatre skits with bits of film and video. They took that concept to director John Landis in Los Angeles who ended up turning it into their first feature.

It was then Abrahams' good fortune to step behind the camera himself as one of the co-directors in the surprising hit, Airplane!. Best knowns' now for the Naked Gun series with Canadian Leslie Neilsen in the starring role (along with O.J. Simpson) Abrahams and his cohorts have a schtick that's big on the slap.

Filmography (as Director):

Jane Austen's Mafia! (1998)
Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)
Hot Shots! (1991)
Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael (1990)
Big Business (1988)
Ruthless People (1986)
Top Secret! (1984)
Airplane! (1980)

Filmography (as Writer):

Jane Austen's Mafia! (1998)
Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994)
Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)
Hot Shots! (1991)
Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear (1991)
The Naked Gun (1988)
Top Secret! (1984)
Airplane! (1980)
The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)