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 Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

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 Eagle River is a city and the county seat of Vilas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,628 at the 2020 census. Because of the many lakes in the area, the city is a popular vacation and retirement destination. The area contai ...

, where he spent summers from the time he was a child.Up-North Escape – All Ways Forward
Retrieved 2018-11-01. He is best known for the spoof movies that he co-wrote and produced with brothers Jerry Zucker and David Zucker, such as ''

Airplane! ''Airplane!'' (alternatively titled ''Flying High!'') is a 1980 American disaster film, disaster comedy film written and directed by Jim Abrahams and brothers David Zucker, David and Jerry Zucker in their List of directorial debuts, directoria ...

'' (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 Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. He directed movies on his own, such as ''

Big Business Big business involves large-scale corporate-controlled financial or business activities. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things". In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly ...

'', 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 Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...

. He was an advocate of the ketogenic diet as a treatment for epilepsy. Abrahams had three children. His daughter, Jamie Abrahams, is also a comedy writer.

Death

He died from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

at his home in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, 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

Film

Executive producer only * '' Cry-Baby'' (1990) * '' The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear'' (1991) * '' Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult'' (1994) Acting roles

Television

Other credits

References

External links

*
Biography
''The New York Times'' (from AllMovie)
Charlie's Story
accessed November 25, 2014. * 1944 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American screenwriters American comedy writers American male screenwriters American male television writers American parodists American television directors American television producers American television writers American comedy film directors Film directors from Wisconsin Film producers from Wisconsin Filmmakers from Milwaukee Jewish American comedy writers Jewish American screenwriters Parody film directors People from Shorewood, Wisconsin People from Eagle River, Wisconsin Screenwriters from Wisconsin Shorewood High School (Wisconsin) alumni Writers Guild of America Award winners Deaths from leukemia in California {{US-film-director-stub