The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

With his younger brother Jerry and high school pal Jim Abrahams, David Zucker is responsible for a series of corny, but often hilarious, spoofs of popular movie genres. The Zucker brothers first collaborated on comic Super-8 films they made as they were growing up in suburban Wisconsin. After completing studies at the University of Wisconsin, he and his brother teamed with Abrahams to form the multi-media troupe Kentucky Fried Theater, which combined live-action with video and film. Relocating to L.A. in 1972, the trio opened a West Coast branch of their show and over a four year period became a critical and audience success.

The three raised enough money to finance a collection of short parodies that became the raunchy indie “The Kentucky Fried Movie” (1977). The team, often referred to as ZAZ, first enjoyed mainstream success with “Airplane!” (1980), a gag-filled parody of disaster epics that successfully cast such stalwarts as Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Robert Stack and Leslie Nielsen against type. Reteaming with Nielsen, the Zucker brothers and Abrahams oversaw the cult hit “Police Squad” (ABC, 1982), a short-lived sitcom that parodied the cop drama. When the series premiered, few were prepared for its zany mix of slapstick, sight gags and puns and it last a mere six episodes.

Undaunted by their lack of small screen success, Zucker and company turned their attentions to the big screen again and fashioned the delightful spy spoof “Top Secret!” (1984), featuring Val Kilmer as an Elvis-like surfer battling Nazis and Communists in East Germany with the aid of the French Resistance. They followed with the above average comedy “Ruthless People” (1986) which showcased the abilities of Bette Midler, Danny De Vito, Helen Slater and Bill Pullman. The trio next brought to the screen a feature based on their TV sitcom. “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!” (1988), which David Zucker directed solo, proved to be an hilarious romp headlined by the deadpan Nielsen. Its box-office success led to two sequels of varying quality. Atypically, Zucker served as a producer of the romantic drama “A Walk in the Clouds” (1995) before returning to form as co-scenarist and co-producer of the dopey “High School High” (1996), followed by a stint co-scripting and helming the raunchy flop “BASEketball” (1998), with “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone attempting to launch a new sport. In 2000 he served as the producer of the short-lived TV series “Absolutely True” and was one of the producers of the surprise hit thriller “Phone Booth” (2002), and 2003 saw the release of his next behind-the-camera effort, the uneven “My Boss’ Daughter,” which sat on the shelf for two years before the sudden heat behind star Ashton Kutcher’s career prompted a release. Zucker returned to more familair territory when he assumed the directorial helm of “Scary Movie 3” (2003), following the departure of the Wayans brothers from the franchise. Veering into film genres beyond the horror conventions the fist two films sent up, Zucker breathed new life into the franchise and, even before the film was released, was tapped to steer the fourth installment. —tcm