Jim Abrahams, co-writer of ‘Airplane!’ and ‘The Naked Gun,’ dies at 80

Jim Abrahams, a writer and director behind slapstick comedies like “Airplane!” and “The Naked Gun” series, has died. He was 80 years old.

The cause of death was natural causes, his son Josh said in a statement. He died at his home in Santa Monica.

Along with childhood friends Jerry and David Zucker, the trio of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker helped popularize the spoof genre, filling their movies with word play and sight gags.

The three started The Kentucky Fried Theater at the University of Wisconsin, which led to Abrahams writing “Kentucky Fried Movie” in 1977 for director John Landis.

They went on to make “Airplane!,” a spin on disaster movies, in 1980; “Top Secret!” in 1984, a parody of both Elvis and spy films, starring Val Kilmer; and “Ruthless People”, with Danny DeVito and Bette Midler, in 1986.

The ZAZ comedy team went on to co-create the TV series “Police Squad,” another deadpan showcase for “Airplane!” star Leslie Nielsen. The short-lived show led to three “Naked Gun” movies and a new career chapter for Nielsen as a comedic actor. Abrahams also has a posthumous credit on the upcoming sequel starring Liam Neeson.

On his own, Abrahams wrote and directed “Hot Shots!,” a parody of “Top Gun,” “Hot Shots! Part Deux,” a parody of the “Rambo” series, “Jane Austen’s Mafia!,” a spoof of “The Godfather” and “Scary Movie 4,” which marked his last screenplay and a final collaboration with David Zucker.

Abrahams was born May 10, 1944, in Shorewood, Wisconsin.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy Cocuzzo; children Jamie, Joseph and Charlie; and grandchildren Caleb, James and Isaac, according to Variety.

Abrahams was the founder of the Charlie Foundation for Ketogenic Therapies, a nonprofit that fights epilepsy, other neurological disorders and select cancers and is named after his son.

“I had to do anything I could to help other families who were living the nightmare from which we had finally awoken,” he wrote in an essay for Cure Epilepsy.