David Samuel Zucker (born October 16, 1947) is an American filmmaker. Associated mostly with parody comedies, Zucker is recognized for collaborating with Jim Abrahams and his brother Jerry as part of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker, with whom he wrote and directed the 1980 film Airplane! and created The Naked Gun franchise. As a solo filmmaker, Zucker has also directed Scary Movie 3 (2003) and Scary Movie 4 (2006).
Career Zucker's movies include The Kentucky Fried Movie in 1977, Ruthless People in 1986, The Naked Gun in 1988, The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear in 1991, BASEketball in 1998, Scary Movie 3 in 2003, and its sequel Scary Movie 4 in 2006. Of 18 works with which he is associated, Phone Booth, which he produced in 2002, is the only non-comedic film.
He co-directed several films including Airplane! in 1980 and Top Secret! in 1984; along with his brother, Jerry, and Jim Abrahams, the trio make up the ZAZ team of directors. He has worked with Pat Proft (with whom he first teamed up on the Naked Gun show Police Squad!) and Craig Mazin (writer of three of the five Scary Movies). In 1987, both David and Jerry Zucker through Zucker Brothers Productions signed an agreement with Paramount Pictures for a two-year non-exclusive production agreement and development deal with the studio, and the brothers had anticipated on making four comedies for Paramount Pictures during the life of the pact. The first film was a feature film version of the early 1980s television show Police Squad!, which was originally cancelled after six episodes on the air.
ZAZ and Proft helped develop the parody genre of films, in which jokes are spit out with rapid-fire, using puns, physical humor, wit, and double entendres. Some of the veteran actors of ZAZ's vision of parody include Leslie Nielsen, Lloyd Bridges, Charlie Sheen, and Julie Hagerty.
Looking back on his career in 2009, Leslie Nielsen said the best film he appeared in was The Naked Gun, and that David was his favorite director to work with. Nielsen said of him, "He came to me one time and said, 'Leslie, I'll never make you do anything that is not funny.' ... he kept his word." Most consider his greatest work to be Airplane!, which has brought on many accolades (including preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress).
In his movies, his mother, Charlotte, often made cameos (like the lady trying to put on make-up in Airplane! and Vincent Ludwig's secretary, Dominique, in The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!).
David Zucker is an aficionado of Davy Crockett and collects memorabilia. He has said that his dream project is to make a biographical film, which he has spent time developing. During the 1990s he regularly hosted a Davy Crockett Rifle Frolic at his ranch in Ojai, California. Zucker wrote 11 updated verses to the song "The Ballad of Davy Crockett", which he claimed in 1992 that he had worked harder on than on any of his scripts. He made a cameo appearance in The Naked Gun 2½ dressed as Crockett.
Zucker began to focus more on politics starting in 2004 when he began working on political ads for the Republican Party. In 2008, he made the political parody movie An American Carol. In 2015, he made a video he called Side Effects attacking President Barack Obama for the Iran nuclear deal in the form of a parody prescription drug ad. In 2017, Zucker said that he was working on a script for a fourth Naked Gun film with Pat Proft. In 2018 he made a cameo appearance on the hidden camera TV series Impractical Jokers, where he was on FaceTime with cast member James Murray in a sketch trying to make the other person laugh.
In 2021, Zucker announced his return to filmmaking with a new spoof film titled The Star of Malta.
Personal life Zucker was born to a Jewish family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Charlotte Zucker and Burton C. Zucker, who was a real estate developer. He graduated from Shorewood High School."25 years and still laughing: 'Airplane!' maintains its cruising altitude with a non-stop zany attitude" , Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 11, 2005. Accessed September 17, 2007. "The event is in honor of the volunteer service and philanthropy of Louise Abrahams Yaffe and her son Jim Abrahams, who wrote and directed "Airplane!" with fellow Shorewood High School and University of Wisconsin–Madison graduates David and Jerry Zucker." In 1997, David married Danielle Zucker, with whom he has two children, Charles and Sarah. He and Danielle were divorced in 2019, although they had been separated for ten years before that. His younger brother, Jerry, is his filmmaking partner. The Zucker brothers have a sister, Susan Breslau, who along with their parents has had numerous appearances in their films. When asked in a September 2014 interview by the BBC if he believes in God, David replied:
Environmentalism David Zucker has been an active supporter of TreePeople since 1988 and is now the longest continuously serving board member (1990) in the organization's history.
He has been an advocate of solar-powered and electric cars since the '90s. "I can't complain about the smog in Los Angeles if I'm contributing to it," Zucker said to the Sun Sentinel in 1990.
Recurring cast members Among all of his directed and/or produced parody films, Zucker had frequently cast the late Leslie Nielsen. Actor ! Airplane! ! Ruthless People ! Naked Gun: Fromthe Files ofPolice Squad! ! The Naked Gun2½: TheSmell of Fear ! BASEketball ! My Boss'Daughter ! Scary Movie 3 ! Scary Movie 4 ! An AmericanCarol ! Scary Movie 5 Anthony Anderson
| Carmen Electra
| Anna Faris
| Regina Hall
| Kevin Hart
| George Kennedy
| Michael Madsen
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
| Robert Stack
| Jenny McCarthy
| Edward Moss
| Leslie Nielsen
| Priscilla Presley
| Bill Pullman
| Simon Rex
| Molly Shannon
| Charlie Sheen
| O. J. Simpson
| Ed Williams
Filmography Film Year TitleDirectorWriterProducer Notes1977The Kentucky Fried Moviewith Jim Abrahams & Jerry Zucker1980Airplane!1984Top Secret!1986Ruthless People1988The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!1991The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear1993For Goodness SakeShort film1994Naked Gun : The Final Insult1996High School High1998BASEketballAlso executive music producer2003My Boss's Daughter Wrote early draft screenplayScary Movie 32006Scary Movie 42008An American Carol2013Scary Movie 5Directed additional scenesTBAThe Star of Malta
As producer only A Walk in the Clouds (1995) Phone Booth (2002) The Onion Movie (2008) Superhero Movie (2008)
As executive producer only Brain Donors (1992) For Goodness Sake II (1996)
Acting roles Year Title Role Note1977The Kentucky Fried MovieMan / Technician #2 / Grunwald1980Airplane!Ground Crewman #21984Top Secret!German Soldier in Prop Room1991The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of FearDavy Crockett1994Naked Gun : The Final InsultTeleprompter Guy1995Your Studio and YouHimselfShort film1998BASEketballMan with Shooting Hot Dog2006Scary Movie 4Zoltar the PuppetVoice role2013Scary Movie 5Packer Fan
Other credits YearTitleRoleNotes2016O.J.: Made in AmericaHimselfDocumentary2019MOSSAD!Creative consultant
Television
Year Title CreatorProducerWriterDirector Notes1976Big John, Little John Episode "Abracadabra"1982Police Squad! Wrote and directed episode "A Substantial Gift (The Broken Promise)"
Other works Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes1987Our Planet TonightTV movie2000H.U.D.Unaired TV series pilotAbsolutely True2019Late Night BerlinEpisode "Folge 42"
Acting roles Year Title Role Note 1972 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson Performer Part as Kentucky Fried Theater in one episode1974The Midnight Special2018Impractical Jokers HimselfEpisode: "Out of Left Field"2020Impractical Jokers: Dinner PartyEpisode: "The Soup's On Episode"
Songwriter
"Spend This Night With Me" (performed by Val Kilmer in Top Secret!, 1984) "I Guess I'm Just Screwed" (performed by Colleen Fitzpatrick in The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear, 1991) "It's Your Birthday" (performed by more actors in High School High, 1996)
References
External links
David Zucker at Discogs GreenCine interview Jewish Journal interview Weekly Standard interview