Jim Abrahams

Jim Abrahams
Abrahams in 2015
Born	James Steven Abrahams (1944-05-10)May 10, 1944 Shorewood, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died	November 26, 2024(2024-11-26) (aged 80) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Occupations	Film director film producer screenwriter
Years active	1976–2019
Spouse	Nancy Cocuzzo

James Steven Abrahams (May 10, 1944 – November 26, 2024) was an American film director and writer, best known as a member of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker.

Life and career

James Steven Abrahams was born on May 10, 1944, to a Jewish family in Shorewood, Wisconsin, the son of Louise M. (née Ogens), an educational researcher, and Norman S. Abrahams, a lawyer. He attended Shorewood High School. He had a home in Eagle River, Wisconsin, where he spent summers from the time he was a child.

He is best 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. He directed 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.

Abrahams and his wife, Nancy (née Cocuzzo) co-founded The Charlie Foundation To Help Cure Pediatric Epilepsy.

Abrahams had three children. His daughter, Jamie Abrahams, is also a comedy writer. He died from leukemia at his home in Santa Monica, California, on November 26, 2024, at the age of 80. He had the disease for twenty years before his death and at one point was in remission until it returned.

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Executive Producer	Notes
1977	The Kentucky Fried Movie	No	Yes	No
1980	Airplane!	Yes	Yes	Yes	Co-directed with David & Jerry Zucker
1984	Top Secret!	Yes	Yes	Yes
1986	Ruthless People	Yes	No	No
1988	Big Business	Yes	No	No
	The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!	No	Yes	Yes
1990	Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael	Yes	No	No
1991	Hot Shots!	Yes	Yes	No
1993	Hot Shots! Part Deux	Yes	Yes	No
1994	An Introduction to the Ketogenic Diet	Yes	No	No	Documentary short
1998	Mafia!	Yes	Yes	No
2006	Scary Movie 4	No	Yes	No

Executive producer only

• Cry-Baby (1990)
• The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991)
• Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994)

Acting roles

Year	Title	Role
1977	The Kentucky Fried Movie	Technician #1 / Announcer
1980	Airplane!	Religious Zealot #6
1984	Top Secret!	German Soldier in Prop Room
1988	Coming to America	Face on Cutting Room Floor
1991	Hot Shots!	Lounge Singer
1991	Oscar	Postman
2019	Fat: A Documentary	Self − Filmmaker & Founder, Charlie Foundation

Television

Series

Year	Title	Creator	Producer	Writer	Notes
1976	Big John, Little John	No	No	Yes	writer of episode "Abracadabra" with David & Jerry Zucker
1982	Police Squad!	Yes	Executive	Yes	Director and writer of episode "A Substantial Gift (The Broken Promise)" with David & Jerry Zucker

Other work

Year	Title	Director	Producer	Notes
1997	...First Do No Harm	Yes	Executive	TV movie
2018	Voice of the Epilepsies	No	Executive	Documentary
2019	Late Night Berlin	No	Creative	Episode "Folge 42"

Acting roles

Year	Title	Role	Note
1972	The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson	Performer	Part as Kentucky Fried Theatre in one episode
1974	The Midnight Special

External links

• Jim Abrahams at IMDb
• biodata, The New York Times; accessed April 23, 2014.
• Charlie's Story; accessed November 25, 2014.
• Jim Abrahams discography at Discogs