Happy 73rd Birthday, David Zucker! Born today in 1947 as David S. Zucker, this screenwriter, producer and film director Associated mostly with parody comedies, Zucker is recognized as the director and writer of critically successful satirical films.
Zucker was born to a Jewish family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Years later, Zucker graduated from Shorewood High School in Washington state.
Zucker, along with his younger brother, Jerry, worked with the improvisational Kentucky Fried Theater in Madison before coming to film parodies until the late 1970s. The brothers had also worked with American movie director and writer Jim Abrahams.
Starting out after college, with a borrowed video tape deck and camera, the soon to be legendary trio created the Kentucky Fried Theater, on the UW Madison campus, and moved to California in 1972, quickly becoming the most successful small theater group in Los Angeles history.
It was then that the trio co-wrote the 1977 American independent comedy/parody film 'Kentucky Fried Movie'.
Directed by John Landis ('An American Werewolf in London'), the film was a dazzlingly funny, no-holds-barred series of satirical sketches spoofing television shows and film cliches, including celebrity cameo appearances.
Upon release, 'Kentucky Fried Movie' became an unexpected success. On a budget of $650,000, the film grossed $7.1 million at the box office.
The film ranks it at #87 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies," and is considered, along with the 1974 American independent comedy/fantasy film 'The Groove Tube' to be one of the groundbreaking films of the entire spoof and mockumentary genres of film making.
After parlaying this success into The Kentucky Fried Movie, the three conceived the idea that would create a whole new film genre 'Kentucky Fried Movie',
Three years later, David, along with Jerry and Abrahams), co-wrote and co-directed the first film of which they are best known. This was the 1980 American parody comedy/romance film 'Airplane!'.
The film is a parody of the disaster film genre, particularly (uncredited) the on-hour 1956 Canadian black and white television film 'Flight into Danger).
It is also a parody of the 1957 American black and white thriller/drama film 'Zero Hour!', from which 'Airplane!' borrows the plot and the central characters.
This also included many elements from the 1974 American air disaster/thriller film 'Airport 1975' and other films in the four airplane-themed disaster features from the Airport film series.
'Airplane!' is known for its use of surreal humor and its and fast-paced slapstick comedy, including visual and verbal puns, gags, and obscure humor. On a budget of $3.5 million, the film grossed $158 million at the box office.
'Airplane!' broke all conventions, featuring dramatic actors like Leslie Nielsen (Dr. Rumack) and Robert Stack (Captain Rex Kramer) performing zany jokes with straight-laced sincerity.
Upon release, the spoof became the surprise hit of 1980, beginning a streak of hilarious movies, after which David branched out to direct on his own.
Two years later, Zucker co-created (along with Jerry and Abrahams) the American television comedy series Police Squad! Broadcast on ABC, the show only lasted one season from March 4 –July 8, 1982.
Starring Leslie Nielsen as Frank Drebin, the show was spoof of police procedurals, the series featured Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker's usual sight gags, wordplay and non sequiturs.
In the itle card for Police Squad!, the subtitle "in color" was a deliberate anachronism; network television shows in the United States had transitioned from black-and-white to color by the late 1960s, and identifying shows that were presented in color was phased out by the early 1970s.
While a parody of many television shows and movies, it bore a particular resemblance to the Lee Marvin cop show M Squad (1957–1960) (especially the opening credits) and Felony Squad (1966–1969).
Although Police Squad! was canceled after six episodes, it later successfully spawned The Naked Gun film series from 1988 to 1994.
Six years after the cancellation of Police Squad!, Zucker co-wrote (along with Jerry and Abrahams) and directed the second and final film of which he is best known. This was the 1988 American comedy/action film 'The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!' (also known as simply 'The Naked Gun').
The film features fast-paced slapstick comedy, including many visual and verbal puns and gags, and is based on the character Nielsen portrayed in Police Squad!
Upon release, 'The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!' was a critical and commercial success. On a budget of $12 million, the film grossed $140 million at the box office.
This later led to two sequels, being the 1991 American comedy/parody film 'The Naked Gun 21⁄2: The Smell of Fear' and the 1994 American comedy/parody film 'Naked Gun 331⁄3: The Final Insult'.
Zucker is also known for directing 'BASEketball' (1998), 'My Boss's Daughter' (2003), 'Scary Movie 3' (2003), and 'Scary Movie 4' (2006).
Prominent Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker (abbreviated to ZAZ) actors and actresses included Leslie Nielsen, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Rowan Atkinson, Whoopi Goldberg, and Charlie Sheen.
The trademarks in Zucker's films include frequently casting Leslie Nielsen and Lloyd Bridges, films and usually featuring puns, slapstick, and visual gags.
Other trademarks include he and Jerry's mother frequently casted in a small role, often featuring serious conversations in the foreground and out-of-focus silly events in the background, and frequently working Jerry, Abrahams, and American comedy writer, actor, and director Pat Proft.
In a 2007 survey by Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, 'Airplane!' was judged the second greatest comedy film of all time, after the 1979 British comedy/satire film 'Monty Python's Life of Brian'.
In 2008, 'Airplane!' was selected by Empire magazine as one of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time and in 2012 was voted number one in The 50 Funniest Comedies Ever poll.
In 2010, 'Airplane!' was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
In 2013, TV Guide ranked Police Squad! #7 on its list of sixty shows that were "Cancelled Too Soon".
On AFI's 100 Years...100 Quotes list, "Surely you can't be serious", spoken by Ted Striker (Robert Hays), is ranked in at #79.
When asked in a September 2014 interview by BBC if he believed in God, Zucker replied: "Oh yeah, I believe in God. I think there's much more evidence that there is a God than that there isn't. I don't believe that Mother Teresa and Hitler go to the same place.
I believe in justice, maybe not in this life, but there has to be justice. And if there isn't a God, I think it would be very depressing. I'd prefer to believe there is."
Outside of the entertainment world, Zucker has been a prominent advocate of environmental causes, having served on the board of TreePeople, an L.A. based organization committed to promoting community-based tree planting and ecological solutions.
Zucker has worked closely with founder Andy Lipkis, taking a major role in charting the direction of the organization, and while doing so, receiving numerous honors, including the annual Evergreen Award.
Nicknamed zucknuckle, Zucker has been active from 1976–present.
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