One of Hollywood’s most iconic film directors, Jim Abrahams, took his final breath at 80 on Tuesday, November 26. The entertainer best known for being a member of Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker (ZAZ) died of natural causes. His son, Joseph, confirmed the heartbreaking loss, noting his famous father died in his Santa Monica home.
The writer-director was born James Steven Abrahams on May 10, 1944, in Shorewood, Wisconsin. His father, Norman, was a lawyer, while his mother, Louise, was an educational researcher. He met the other members of ZAZ, brothers Jerry and David Zucker, at a young age. The trio’s fathers were business colleagues, and their families were in the same synagogue. Thanks to their close bond, the ZAZ group attended the same educational institutions before building their illustrious career.
In 1971, Abrahams, the Zucker brothers, and Dick Chudnow founded the Kentucky Fried Theater in Madison. They used a mix of comedy styles to create the unique blueprint that led to their success. Using this format, the ZAZ group launched The Kentucky Fried Movie, a sketch-filled masterpiece in 1977. Abrahams and the Zucker brothers achieved greater success three years later with Airplane! followed by Top Secret! in 1984. The ZAZ group kept collaborating on more projects like 1986’s Ruthless People and The Naked Gun films. The trio also created the 1982 TV series Police Squad!, which earned them an Emmy nomination for their writing.
However, Abrahams achieved solo fame by directing 1988’s Big Business and Hot Shots! in 1991, plus its 1993 sequel. In the director’s seat, Abrahams’ achievements continued with Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael in 1990. He also directed the 1998 Godfather spoof Jane Austen’s Mafia! starring Jay Mohr and Christina Applegate. As a writer, Abrahams had many credits, including as a co-writer for Scary Movie 4, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Inside Jim Abrahams’ Life as a Proud Father and Grandfather
As Abrahams enjoyed numerous successes in his career, his private life bore similar fruits. He achieved a decades-long marriage with his wife, Nancy Cocuzzo, whom he married in 1976. The happy couple welcomed sons Joseph and Charlie alongside a daughter named Jamie. Apart from his immediate family, the director-writer is survived by his grandchildren, Caleb, James, and Isaac.
However, life wasn’t always rosy for the Abrahams family, as they faced an emotional trial — Charlie’s epilepsy. Abrahams’ son was diagnosed with a difficult-to-control form of epilepsy at 11 months. The boy reportedly suffered from daily seizures, a heartbreaking situation that tested the Hollywood icon and his loved ones. He once addressed the challenging period in an essay for Cure Epilepsy, writing:
“When you have a kid as sick as Charlie was, a hundred times a day you say, ‘Oh, please God, make the seizures go away. I’ll do anything.'”
Abrahams did his best to relieve his son’s seizures and succeeded after placing him on a ketogenic diet. Charlie’s seizures stopped within days, and within a month, he didn’t need medication. After five years, he was able to eat regular food, and the seizures never returned. The late director and his family were so grateful for his recovery that they launched a nonprofit foundation. In 1994, they founded the Charlie Foundation for Ketogenic Therapies to fight against epilepsy, neurological disorders, and select cancers.
Rest in peace, Jim Abrahams.
