Zucker brothers on Hollywood dynasties list
Shorewood natives co-wrote ‘Airplane!’
Filmmaking brothers David and Jerry Zucker have traveled in some heady circles since they broke through with the cult-favorite comedies “The Kentucky Fried Movie” and “Airplane!”
But a new ranking puts the Shorewood brothers among Hollywood’s elites.
This week, Vanity Fair compiled a list of the “25 most important families in Hollywood history.” The Zuckers ranked No. 14 — ahead of the Bergman/ Rossellinis (Italian neorealist master Roberto Rossellini; Oscar-winning actress Ingrid Bergman; and their daughter, actress-director Isabella Rossellini), and just behind the Fisher/Reynoldses (singer-actors Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds; daughter Carrie Fisher; and son cinematographer Todd Fisher, among others).
The Vanity Fair entry for the Zuckers includes childhood friend and longtime collaborator Jim Abrahams, with whom the brothers have worked since co-writing 1977’s “Kentucky Fried Movie” and co-writing and co-directing “Airplane!” in 1980. It also notes the Zuckers started out in sketch comedy, “which paved the way for them to revolutionize Hollywood’s comedy spoof genre.”
Vanity Fair also notes the Zuckers have found solo success as well — David mostly in broad comedies, such as “BASEketball” and the “Scary Movie” series, Jerry in dramas including “Ghost.”
In 2014, the Zuckers and Abrahams were the focus of a tribute at the Milwaukee Film Festival.
The top 3 on Vanity Fair’s list of Hollywood were the David O. Selznick/Louis B. Mayer family (movie studio moguls from the 1920s through 1950s); the Coppolas, including father-daughter directors Francis and Sofia; and the Warner brothers, who built the studio of the same name.