--- name: "Jim Abrahams" canonical: "https://film.one/person/jim-abrahams" fi1m_id: "jim-abrahams" imdb_id: "nm0000720" tmdb_id: 12936 wikidata_id: "Q448604" roles: ["Writer","Director","Producer"] born: "10 May 1944" died: "26 November 2024" reviewed_on_fi1m: 9 average_fi1m_score: 79 average_as: "writer" average_over: 3 updated: "2026-10-04T23:42:38.149406+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Jim Abrahams ## Identity Jim Abrahams - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/jim-abrahams - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** jim-abrahams - **IMDb ID:** nm0000720 - **TMDB ID:** 12936 - **Wikidata ID:** Q448604 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Abrahams, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q448604, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000720/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/12936 Writer and director. Born 10 May 1944 in Shorewood, Wisconsin, USA. Died 26 November 2024. ## Details - **Work:** Writer, Director, Producer - **Born:** 10 May 1944, Shorewood, Wisconsin, USA - **Died:** 26 November 2024 - **Active:** 1980–2025 - **Also known as:** James S. "Jim" Abrahams, 짐 에이브러햄스 - **Titles on Fi1m:** 9: 1 acting, 5 directing, 3 writing - **Frequently works with:** [David Zucker](https://film.one/person/david-zucker.md), [Jerry Zucker](https://film.one/person/jerry-zucker.md), [Lloyd Bridges](https://film.one/person/lloyd-bridges.md), [Pat Proft](https://film.one/person/pat-proft.md), [Bill Badalato](https://film.one/person/bill-badalato.md), [Charlie Sheen](https://film.one/person/charlie-sheen.md), [Jon Davison](https://film.one/person/jon-davison.md), [Leslie Nielsen](https://film.one/person/leslie-nielsen.md) - **Average Fi1m score:** 79, as writer, over 3 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 81 (5), 1990s 70 (3), 2020s 77 (1) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 79 to 76 across 3 titles - **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Genres:** Comedy 3, Crime 3, Action 1 - **Screen time:** 4 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $447m across 3 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Abrahams, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q448604, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000720/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/12936 ## Streaming the US now - **Hulu:** [*Airplane!*](https://film.one/film/airplane.md) (89), [*The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!*](https://film.one/film/the-naked-gun-from-the-files-of-police-squad.md) (88) - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Ruthless People*](https://film.one/film/ruthless-people.md) (77) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Jim Abrahams > Jim Abrahams made solemn actors funny by letting them stay solemn. His strongest comedies keep changing the joke; the weaker ones expect recognition to do too much of the work. In *Airplane* (1980), absurd lines are delivered with the authority needed to make an emergency sound plausible. Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker wrote and directed it, and their insistence on straight-faced performances makes even some feeble wordplay worth hearing. We laughed because the cast takes these ridiculous misunderstandings so seriously. The inventiveness makes this an excellent comedy, though we occasionally wished the script had supplied something better than another verbal mix-up. That discipline cannot do everything. *Top Secret* (1984), again directed by the three, has Val Kilmer's earnest delivery to hold it together. The pastiche songs give him something to do beyond keeping a straight face, and the physical comedy is often more rewarding than the story. Yet the characters too often seem to be waiting for the next joke. We enjoy the persistence, but the failed attempts arrive almost as regularly as the good ones. *Ruthless People* (1986) gives the trio a firmer reason for its characters to behave badly: a husband is delighted by his wife's kidnapping. Dale Launer's screenplay keeps making that failure of affection everybody else's problem. Danny DeVito and Bette Midler make the nastiness enjoyable, which gives the farce more to sustain it between complications. It grows less convincing when it starts tidying up, but the spite is worth an evening. The changing kinds of joke matter just as much as the actors' composure. In *The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad* (1988), directed by David Zucker, Abrahams shares the screenplay credit with both Zuckers and Pat Proft. A verbal misunderstanding can give way to physical clumsiness or something absurd in the picture, while Michael Jablow's editing keeps us from dwelling on a failure. That variety makes the density pleasurable, even if a few crude jokes deserve retirement. Abrahams's solo directing began with *Big Business* (1988), and *Hot Shots* (1991) brought the deadpan spoof into that part of his career. Co-writing with Proft, he gives Charlie Sheen plenty of opportunities to look foolish while remaining solemn. Enough jokes land to make it enjoyable, but recognising the target too often exhausts the gag. There is little warmth in the characters to carry us through the weaker passages. Start with *Airplane*, and allow it a few dreadful jokes. ## Biography Jim Abrahams was an American film writer and director. Born on 10 May 1944 in Shorewood, Wisconsin, he died on 26 November 2024 in Santa Monica, California. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison and, with childhood friends David and Jerry Zucker, formed the Kentucky Fried Theater comedy troupe in the early 1970s. Abrahams is best known for his work with the Zuckers on the spoof comedy *Airplane!* (1980), which he co-wrote and co-directed, and subsequent films including *Top Secret!* (1984), *Ruthless People* (1986) and *The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!* (1988). He later directed *Big Business* (1988) and co-wrote and directed the *Hot Shots!* films (1991 and 1993). He received a BAFTA nomination for the screenplay of *Airplane!*. *Sources: nytimes.com, theguardian.com, en.wikipedia.org.* ## On Fi1m (9) ### Performed in (1) - *Coming to America* (1988), Fi1m 76, as Face on Cutting Room Floor — [page](https://film.one/film/coming-to-america.md) ### Directed (5) - *Hot Shots! Part Deux* (1993), Fi1m 67, Characters, Screenplay, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/hot-shots-part-deux.md) - *Hot Shots!* (1991), Fi1m 70, Director, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/hot-shots.md) - *Ruthless People* (1986), Fi1m 77, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/ruthless-people.md) - *Top Secret!* (1984), Fi1m 76, as German Soldier in Prop Room (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/top-secret.md) - *Airplane!* (1980), Fi1m 89, as Religious Zealot #6 — [page](https://film.one/film/airplane.md) ### Wrote (3) — the average rests on these - *The Naked Gun* (2025), Fi1m 77, Original Film Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-naked-gun.md) - *The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear* (1991), Fi1m 72, Executive Producer, Original Series Creator — [page](https://film.one/film/the-naked-gun-212-the-smell-of-fear.md) - *The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!* (1988), Fi1m 88, Executive Producer, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-naked-gun-from-the-files-of-police-squad.md) ## Complete filmography (24) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *The Naked Gun* (2025), Original Film Writer — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/film/the-naked-gun.md) - *Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty* (2022), series, as Jim Abrahams - *Scary Movie 4* (2006), Screenplay - *Jane Austen's Mafia!* (1998), Screenplay, Director - *...First Do No Harm* (1997), Director, Producer - *Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult* (1994), Executive Producer - *An Introduction to the Ketogenic Diet* (1994), Director - *Hot Shots! Part Deux* (1993), Screenplay, Characters, Director — Fi1m 67, [page](https://film.one/film/hot-shots-part-deux.md) - *Hearts of Hot Shots! Part Deux—A Filmmaker's Apology* (1993), Actor - *Brain Donors* (1992), Executive Producer - *Hot Shots!* (1991), Director, Writer — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/hot-shots.md) - *The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear* (1991), Executive Producer, Original Series Creator — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/the-naked-gun-212-the-smell-of-fear.md) - *Oscar* (1991), as Postman (uncredited) - *Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael* (1990), Director - *Cry-Baby* (1990), Executive Producer - *The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!* (1988), Writer, Executive Producer — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/the-naked-gun-from-the-files-of-police-squad.md) - *Coming to America* (1988), as Face on Cutting Room Floor — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/coming-to-america.md) - *Big Business* (1988), Director - *Ruthless People* (1986), Director — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/film/ruthless-people.md) - *Top Secret!* (1984), as German Soldier in Prop Room (uncredited) · Director, Screenplay, Executive Producer — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/top-secret.md) - *Police Squad!* (1982), series, Producer, Writer, Director, Creator - *Airplane!* (1980), as Religious Zealot #6 · Executive Producer, Director, Writer — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/film/airplane.md) - *The Kentucky Fried Movie* (1977), as Various · Writer - *Big John, Little John* (1976), series, Writer --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/jim-abrahams