Jim Abrahams, whose Police Squad! spoof led to the Naked Gun movie franchise, dies...

[TMC]

...at 80

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/mo...ts-1236071689/

Abrahams, who died Tuesday of natural causes, and his Wisconsin boyhood friends Jerry and David Zucker were the brains behind Airplane!, The Kentucky Friday Movie, Top Secret! and the Hot Shots movie franchise. In 1982, Abrahams and the Zucker brothers created Police Squad! for ABC, starring Airplane!'s Leslie Nielsen as the intrepid, if inept, Det. Frank Drebin. "Though the series was critically acclaimed and scored two Emmy nominations — one for Nielsen and one for ZAZ’s writing, it aired just six episodes before being canceled," says Chris Koseluk in Abrahams' The Hollywood Reporter obituary. "But cable reruns brought it a new following, and The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, directed by David Zucker, made it the big screen in 1988, grossing $78.8 million." The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! was followed by 1991's The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear and 1994’s The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult. Abrahams' death comes as he was executive producing a reboot of The Naked Gun film franchise starring Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson. In 2023, Abrahams and the Zucker brothers released Surely You Can't Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane!, an audiobook oral history featuring contributions from Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Silverman, Bill Hader, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Molly Shannon and more comedy stars influenced by “ZAZ.”

[EccentricGenius]

Sad news. May he rest in peace.