James S. Abrahams (born May 10, 1944) is an American movie director and writer, best known as a member of
Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker.
Life and career
Abrahams was born to a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family in
Shorewood, Wisconsin
Shorewood is a village in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 13,859 at the 2020 census.
History
In the early 19th century when the first European American settlers arrived, the Shorewood area was controlled by Nativ ...
, the son of Louise M. (née Ogens), an educational researcher, and Norman S. Abrahams, a lawyer.
He attended
Shorewood High School.
[ He has a home in Eagle River, Wisconsin where he has spent summers since he was a child.Up-North Escape – All Ways Forward]
Retrieved 2018-11-01.
He may be best known for the
spoof movies that he co-wrote and produced with brothers
Jerry Zucker and
David Zucker, such as ''
Airplane!'' (for which he was nominated for a
BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay) and ''
The Naked Gun'' series. The team of
Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker (also referred to as "ZAZ") really began when the three men grew up together in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...
. He directed movies on his own, such as ''
Big Business
Big business involves large-scale corporate-controlled financial or business activities. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things". In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly ...
'', and further honed his skills in parody with ''
Hot Shots!
''Hot Shots!'' is a 1991 American comedy film directed by Jim Abrahams, co-writer and co-director of ''Airplane!'', and written by Abrahams and Pat Proft. It stars Charlie Sheen, Cary Elwes, Valeria Golino, Lloyd Bridges, Jon Cryer, Kevin Dunn ...
'' and its 1993 sequel, ''
Hot Shots! Part Deux
''Hot Shots! Part Deux'' is a 1993 American parody film directed by Jim Abrahams. It stars Charlie Sheen, Lloyd Bridges, Valeria Golino, Richard Crenna (parodying his Colonel role in the ''Rambo'' franchise), Brenda Bakke, Miguel Ferrer, R ...
''.
Abrahams and his wife, Nancy (née Cocuzzo) co-founded The Charlie Foundation To Help Cure Pediatric Epilepsy.
Filmography
Films
Executive producer only
* ''
Cry-Baby'' (1990)
* ''
The Naked Gun : The Smell of Fear'' (1991)
* ''
Naked Gun : The Final Insult'' (1994)
Acting roles
Television
Series
Other work
Acting roles
References
External links
*
biodata The New York Times; accessed April 23, 2014.
Charlie's Story accessed November 25, 2014.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abrahams, Jim
1944 births
Living people
American male screenwriters
American parodists
Filmmakers from Milwaukee
Jewish American screenwriters
Jewish American film directors
Writers Guild of America Award winners
People from Shorewood, Wisconsin
People from Eagle River, Wisconsin
Screenwriters from Wisconsin
Film producers from Wisconsin
Comedy film directors
Parody film directors
Shorewood High School (Wisconsin) alumni
21st-century American Jews