Comedy Genius Behind ‘Airplane!’, ‘Naked Gun’ Dead at 80

Jim Abrahams, the famed writer and director of such parody classics as Airplane! (1980) and The Naked Gun (1988) died on Tuesday at 80, his son Joseph confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. Abrahams passed away at his home in Santa Monica, CA, of natural causes.

Along with his lifelong friends, brothers Jerry and David Zucker, Abrahams made some of the funniest and most well-remembered comedies of the last 50 years. In addition to Airplane!, the trio created the hysterical but short-lived cult television series Police Squad, which starred Leslie Nielsen as Lt. Frank Drebin. The series was later reworked into the far more successful Naked Gun film franchise.

They also masterminded the underrated, riotous spy spoof Top Secret (1984), which starred Val Kilmer as an Elvis-style rockabilly who gets caught up in WWII-era international intrigue involving the hapless Führer. In a change of pace, they produced the jet-black 1986 comedy Ruthless People starring Bette Midler and Danny Devito. The film, loosely adapted from Elmore Leonard’s novel The Switch, was not a parody but a thriller with a disturbing streak of cruelty running through it.

Abrahams went on to direct the sweet-hearted sisters-in-industry comedy Big Business (1988), on which he worked with Lily Tomlin re-teamed with Midler; and returned to parody, penning both installments of the Hot Shots franchise (1991 and 1993, respectively). Abrahams directed the drop-dead brilliant Godfather spoof entitled Jane Austen’s Mafia! (1998) before reuniting with Naked Gun screenwriters Craig Mazin and Pat Proft to co-write Scary Movie 4 (2006), which David Zucker directed.

Abrhamas is survived by his wife, Nancy Cocuzzo, whom he wed in 1976. He’s also survived by his sons Joseph and Charlie; his daughter Jamie; and his grandchildren Caleb, Isaac, and James.

Abraham’s films are widely available online. Top Secret is streaming for free on Pluto TV; while Airplane!, Naked Gun, and Jane Austen’s Mafia! are available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.