Editing David Zucker (section)

==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 (film)|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 ''[[Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker|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 Movie]]s''). 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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1987-10-07 |title=Zucker Bros. Sign A 2-Year Par Pact |pages=4, 119 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref>

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]], [[Julie Hagerty]], and [[Anna Faris]] (Faris starred in four of the ''[[Scary Movie]]'' series).

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."<ref>{{cite news |last=McEvoy |first=Colin |title=Leslie Nielsen here? Surely you jest! MOVIE STAR SITS DOWN with students to kick off DeSales festival. And don't call him Shirley. |work=[[The Express-Times]] |date=March 28, 2009 |page=A1}}</ref> 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.<ref name=lat>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|title=You Mean Leslie Nielsen Won't Play Davy Crockett?|last=Marx|first=Andy|date=November 17, 1991|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-11-17-ca-496-story.html|access-date=January 15, 2021}}</ref><ref name=holl>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Houston Chronicle]]|date=April 28, 2017|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/columnists/native-texan/article/Holley-Lighter-side-of-Davy-Crockett-a-serious-11108268.php|last=Holley|first=Joe|title=Lighter side of Davy Crockett a serious pursuit to movie producer|access-date=January 15, 2021}}</ref> During the 1990s he regularly hosted a Davy Crockett Rifle Frolic at his ranch in [[Ojai]], California.<ref name=dv/><ref name=holl/> Zucker wrote 11 updated verses to the song "[[The Ballad of Davy Crockett]]", which he claimed in 1992 that he had worked harder on those than on any of his scripts.<ref name=dv>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Daily Variety]]|title=Dressing up, getting down at Davy Crockett Rifle Frolic|last=Marx|first=Andy|date=December 3, 1992|page=19}}</ref> He made a cameo appearance in ''The Naked Gun 2½'' dressed as Crockett.<ref name=lat/>

Zucker began to focus more on politics starting in 2004 when he began working on political ads for the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ballon|first1=Marc|title=Comedy director David Zucker goes to GOP? You can't be serious!|url=http://jewishjournal.com/news/los_angeles/community_briefs/13783/|access-date=1 September 2017|publisher=Jewish Journal|date=October 5, 2006}}</ref> In 2008, he made the political parody movie ''[[An American Carol]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://entertainment.time.com/2011/12/20/top-10-worst-christmas-movies/slide/an-american-carol-2008/|title=Top 10 Worst Christmas Movies|first=Richard|last=Corliss|magazine=Time |date=December 22, 2008 |via=entertainment.time.com}}</ref> In 2015, he made a video he called ''Side Effects'' attacking President [[Barack Obama]] for the [[Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action|Iran nuclear deal]] in the form of a parody prescription drug ad.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mediaite.com/online/airplane-directors-attempt-to-satirize-iran-deal-is-laughably-bad/|title=Airplane! Director's Attempt to Satirize Iran Deal Is Laughably Bad|website=www.mediaite.com|date=September 15, 2015 }}</ref> 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 (comedian)|James Murray]] in a sketch trying to make the other person laugh.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailycardinal.com/article/2017/03/director-david-zucker-talks-airplane-comedy-getting-his-start-on-campus|work=[[Daily Cardinal]]|title=Director David Zucker talks "Airplane!", comedy, getting his start on campus|access-date=June 12, 2017|last=Skubish|first=Jake|date=March 30, 2017}}</ref>

In 2021, Zucker announced his return to filmmaking with a new spoof film titled ''The Star of Malta''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/naked-gun-co-creator-david-zucker-spoof-noir-movies-star-of-malta-1235046710/|title='Naked Gun' Co-Creator David Zucker to Spoof Noir Movies With 'Star of Malta' (Exclusive)|website=The Hollywood Reporter|last=Kit|first=Borys|date=November 11, 2021|access-date=November 16, 2021}}</ref>