Jim Abrahams Biography (1944-)

Born May 10, 1944, in Shorewood, WI; married Nancy; children: Joseph, Jamie,Charlie. Career: Producer, director, and screenwriter. Kentucky FriedTheatre (improvisation company), Madison, WI, co-founder, 1971; Kentucky Fried Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, co-founder, 1972. Also worked as a private investigator. Member: Directors Guild of America. Awards, Honors: Writers Guild of America Award, best comedy, 1980, for Airplane!; Emmy Award nomination, best writing in a comedy series, 1982, for Police Squad! Addresses: Agent: Jim Berkys, United Talent Agency, 9560 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 500, Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Occupation: Producer, Director, Screenwriter
Birth Details: May 10, 1944; Shorewood, Wisconsin, United States

Famous Works

CREDITS
Film Work
Director, Except Where Indicated
(With David Zucker and Jerry Zucker) And executive producer, Airplane! (also known as Flying High), Paramount, 1980
(With D. Zucker and J. Zucker) And executive producer, Top Secret!, Paramount, 1984
(With D. Zucker and J. Zucker) Ruthless People, Buena Vista, 1986
Big Business, Buena Vista, 1988
Executive producer, The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!(also known as The Naked Gun), Paramount, 1988
Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael, Paramount, 1990
Executive producer, Cry-Baby, Imagine/Universal, 1990
Hot Shots!, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1991
Co-executive producer, Naked Gun 2-1/2: The Smell of Fear, Paramount, 1991
Hot Shots! Part Deux (also known as Hot Shots! 2), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1993
Executive producer, Naked Gun 33-1/3: The Final Insult (also knownas Naked Gun 3), Paramount, 1994
Jane Austen's Mafia (also known as Mafia!), Buena Vista, 1998
Film Appearances
Announcer in the courtroom and first technician, "Eyewitness News" (segment), The Kentucky Fried Movie, United Film, 1977

Religious zealot, Airplane! (also known as Flying High), Paramount, 1980
The face on the cutting room floor, Coming to America, 1988
Television Work
Series
Creator, executive producer, and director, Police Squad!, ABC, 1982
Movies
Director, producer, and executive producer,... First Do No Harm, ABC, 1997
Television Appearances
Specials
Hearts of Hot Shots! Part Deux--A Filmmaker's Apology, HBO, 1993
WRITINGS
Screenplays
(With D. Zucker and J. Zucker) The Kentucky Fried Movie, United Film, 1977
(With D. Zucker and J. Zucker) Airplane! (also known as FlyingHigh), Paramount, 1980
(With D. Zucker, J. Zucker, and Martyn Burke) And lyricist, "Spend This Night with Me," Top Secret!, Paramount, 1984
(With D. Zucker, J. Zucker, and Pat Proft) The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, Paramount, 1988
(With Proft) Hot Shots!, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1991
(With others) Naked Gun 2-1/2: The Smell of Fear, Paramount, 1991
(With Proft) Hot Shots! Part Deux, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1993
Naked Gun 33-1/3: The Final Insult (also known as Naked Gun 3), Paramount, 1994
Jane Austen's Mafia (also known as Mafia!), Buena Vista, 1998
Television Episodes
(With others) Police Squad!, ABC, 1982

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals:

Chicago Tribune, December 2, 1988, .
Entertainment Weekly, August 9, 1991, p. 38.
People Weekly, April 17, 1995, p. 54.
Rolling Stone, October 2, 1980, .
Time, August 29, 1977, July 14, 1980; March 29, 1982; July 2, 1984; June 30, 1986; June 13, 1988.
Times February 9, 1989, (London)
Variety, August 9, 1991, p. 93.
Video Business, August 19, 1994, p. 58.
Village Voice, March 30, 1982, June 14, 1988.*

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