Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker (abbreviated to ZAZ) was an American comedy filmmaking trio consisting of

Jim Abrahams 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 ...

and brothers

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

and

Jerry Zucker Jerry Gordon Zucker (born March 11, 1950) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is one third of the filmmaking trio Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker. He is best known for his role in writing and directing comedy spoof films like ...

who specialised in writing

slapstick comedy Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...

films during the 1980s. Members of the team have often collaborated with writer

Pat Proft Pat Proft (born 1947) is an American comedy writer, actor, and director. Born in Minnesota in 1947, Proft began his career at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis in the mid-1960s. He went on to perform as a one-man comedy act in the ...

History

David Zucker David Samuel Zucker (born October 16, 1947) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Associated mostly with parody comedies, Zucker is recognized for collaborating with Jim Abrahams and his brother Jerry as part of Zucker, Ab ...

, and

knew each other as children while growing up in

Shorewood, Wisconsin Shorewood is a village in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 13,859 at the 2020 census. History In the early 19th century when the first white se ...

and while attending Shorewood High School, which is sometimes referenced in their work. While attending the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

, the trio founded a small theater known as The Kentucky Fried Theater in 1971 which led to their

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

film ''

The Kentucky Fried Movie ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' is a 1977 American independent black comedy sketch film, produced by Kim Jorgensen, Larry Kostroff, and Robert K. Weiss, and directed by John Landis. Among the numerous star cameos are George Lazenby, Bill Bixb ...

'' in 1977. This was followed by the trio's breakout hit ''

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 ...

'' in 1980, which remains a revered comedic milestone. Subsequent collaborations include ''

Top Secret! ''Top Secret!'' is a 1984 action comedy film written and directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker ( ZAZ) and Martyn Burke. It stars Val Kilmer (in his film debut) and Lucy Gutteridge alongside a supporting cast featuring Omar Sh ...

'', ''

Ruthless People ''Ruthless People'' is a 1986 American black comedy film directed by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker and written by Dale Launer. It stars Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Judge Reinhold, Anita Morris, and Helen Slater, with Bill Pull ...

'', and ''

The Naked Gun ''The Naked Gun'', also known as ''Police Squad!'', is a media franchise consisting of several American crime spoof- comedies, created by the comedy filmmaking trio Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker. The installments include one television series, ...

''. All of their projects relied heavily on parodies, visual gags and breaking of the fourth wall, and established a strong 1980s cult following. The notable stylistic exception is ''Ruthless People'', a more traditional farce that was directed by the trio but unlike their other productions, not written by them. The trio's status as a three-person team of co-directors is highly unusual, although some of their later projects were directed by David Zucker working solo and with Jerry Zucker and Abrahams credited only as producers and/or writers. The trio split up in the 1990s for fiscal and creative reasons, stating that there were "too many guys sitting in the same chair". They also said that they had been treated unfairly by the studios that produced their films, claiming that they failed to see any profits from ''Ruthless People''. Nevertheless, the three still maintained a close friendship until Abrahams died in 2024.

Filmography

Television

Film

References

External links

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Finger Lickin' Funny
about the original Kentucky Fried Theater {{DEFAULTSORT:Zucker, Abrahams And Zucker Jewish American entertainers Slapstick comedians Comedy trios Film directors from Wisconsin Film collectives American parodists American comedy film directors Parody film directors American television show creators Surreal comedy