Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker

Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker
Pseudonym	Kentucky Fried Theatre
Medium	Film
Nationality	American
Years active	1976–1994
Genres	Slapstick comedy
Subject(s)	Parodies Visual gags Fourth wall breaking
Notable works and roles	The Kentucky Fried Movie Airplane! Top Secret! Ruthless People The Naked Gun
Members	David Zucker Jim Abrahams Jerry Zucker

Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker (abbreviated to ZAZ) was an American comedy filmmaking trio consisting of Jim Abrahams and brothers David and Jerry Zucker who specialised in writing slapstick comedy films during the 1980s. Members of the team have often collaborated with writer Pat Proft.

History

David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker knew each other as children while growing up in Shorewood, Wisconsin and while attending Shorewood High School, which is sometimes referenced in their work. While attending the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the trio founded a small theater known as The Kentucky Fried Theater in 1971 which led to their sketch comedy film The Kentucky Fried Movie in 1977. This was followed by the trio's breakout hit Airplane! in 1980, which remains a revered comedic milestone. Subsequent collaborations include Top Secret!, Ruthless People, and The Naked Gun.

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 working solo and with Jerry 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.

Abrahams died November 26, 2024.

Filmography

The chart below shows which films member(s) of the trio have directed (N) or been a writer for, plus the involvement of Pat Proft:

	David Zucker	Jim Abrahams	Jerry Zucker	Pat Proft
Big John, Little John (1976) (episode "Abracadabra")	(writer)	(writer)	(writer)
The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)	(writer)	(writer)	(writer)
Airplane! (1980)	N (writer)	N (writer)	N (writer)
Police Squad! (1982) (pilot episode)	N (writer)	N (writer)	N (writer)
Top Secret! (1984)	N (writer)	N (writer)	N (writer)
Ruthless People (1986)	N	N	N
Big Business (1988)		N
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)	N (writer)	(writer)	(writer)	(writer)
Ghost (1990)			N
Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael (1990)		N
The Naked Gun 2+1⁄2: The Smell of Fear (1991)	N (writer)			(writer)
Hot Shots! (1991)		N (writer)		(writer)
Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)		N (writer)		(writer)
For Goodness Sake (1993)	N (writer)
Naked Gun 33+1⁄3: The Final Insult (1994)	(writer)			(writer)
First Knight (1995)			N
High School High (1996)	(writer)			(writer)
...First Do No Harm (1997)		N
Mafia! (1998)		N (writer)
BASEketball (1998)	N (writer)
Rat Race (2001)			N
My Boss's Daughter (2003)	N
Scary Movie 3 (2003)	N			(writer)
Scary Movie 4 (2006)	N	(writer)		(writer)
An American Carol (2008)	N (writer)
Scary Movie 5 (2013)	(writer)			(writer)

External links

• David Zucker at IMDb
• Jim Abrahams at IMDb
• Jerry Zucker at IMDb
• Finger Lickin' Funny, about the original Kentucky Fried Theater