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
- 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.*