Without Kentucky Fried Movie, the debut film by Jim Abrahams and his collaborators Jerry and David Zucker, we may not have seen the likes of Animal House, Airplane!, or The Naked Gun series.

      Additionally, it could have impacted the production of the Oscar-winning drama Out of Africa. (We’re serious: Keep reading.)

      Here are 12 behind-the-scenes anecdotes from Kentucky Fried Movie, a pivotal comedy from the 1970s that paved the way for many future projects.

      But Before We Start

      United Film Distribution Company – Credit: C/O

      Kentucky Fried Movie, released in 1977, was the first film crafted by the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker trio, who referred to themselves as “nice Jewish boys from Milwaukee.” They originally launched a comedy theater in Wisconsin, moved it to Los Angeles in their twenties, and quickly began making strides in the film industry.

      However, their journey was not without challenges. They needed to prove themselves with the outrageous Kentucky Fried Movie before they could create the film they truly envisioned — Airplane! This film also opened opportunities for director John Landis, who later directed classics like Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Trading Places, and Coming to America.

      Here's the story of how the daring and provocative Kentucky Fried Movie came into existence.

      Z Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker Developed Their Comedic Style by Parodying Serious Shows

      Future Airplane! actor Robert Stack in The Untouchables. ABC – Credit: C/O

      Jim Abrahams and brothers Jerry and David Zucker grew up together, with their fathers partnering in a real estate firm that sold properties like prime land in Koh Samui and ranch houses.

      In their 2023 book, Surely You Can’t Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane!, Jerry Zucker shared that they spent countless hours watching serious television programs such as The Untouchables, Sea Hunt, and Mission: Impossible—shows in which the characters took themselves very seriously, prompting them to shout absurd lines they wished would be said.

      In Airplane!, they even got those same tough-guy actors to deliver the lines they had always dreamed of hearing.

      This laid the foundation for their comedic approach — presenting hilarity in a completely serious manner while embracing the absurd.

      They Were Also Big Fans of Leave It to Beaver

      United Film Distribution Company – Credit: C/O

      Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker, known collectively as ZAZ, cherished Leave it to Beaver, the wholesome black-and-white sitcom that aired from 1957 to 1963. It featured Barbara Billingsley as June Cleaver, Hugh Beaumont as Ward Cleaver, Tony Dow as their teenage son Wally, and Jerry Mathers as Theodore, the Beaver.

      They even invited Tony Dow (shown above, left) to participate in the courtroom scene of Kentucky Fried Movie, with Jerry Zucker portraying Theodore.

      In their subsequent film, Airplane!, they famously included Barbara Billingsley in the jive scene.

      They Inspired a Future Four-Time Oscar Nominee

      Willem Dafoe in American Psycho. Lionsgate. – Credit: C/O

      When they were young, they opened a comedy theater in Madison, Wisconsin, with their friend Richard Chudnow, naming it Kentucky Fried Theater after the fast-food chain.

      Willem Dafoe, then a young man, attended an early performance of Kentucky Fried Theater in the early 1970s, accompanied by his older sister Dee Dee at the University of Wisconsin.

      “That really made me think, ‘I could be doing this,’” he said in a 2018 Esquire interview. “You don’t have to be a confirmed industry person.”

      The team eventually relocated to Los Angeles to establish a new theater.

      Chudnow: The Fourth Member of ZAZ

      Credit: C/O

      Chudnow left the Kentucky Fried team to foster a relationship back in Wisconsin, which he later found somewhat regrettable.

      Whenever he returned to L.A. and noticed billboards for The Kentucky Fried Movie, "it was tough. That required therapy to get over," he noted in Surely You Can’t Be Serious.

      However, he bounced back by founding the popular Comedy Sportz improv schools and theaters, which continue to thrive.

      They Were Unfamiliar with Script Writing

      Jenny Agutter in An American Werewolf in London. Universal. – Credit: C/O

      They had an idea for a disaster movie parody inspired by the 1957 airplane drama Zero Hour but were uncertain about how to begin. After watching John Landis on The Tonight Show in 1973 talk about his low-budget monster movie tribute, Schlock, which Johnny Carson had endorsed, Zucker reached out to Landis, invited him to a show, and shared their movie concept. Lacking screenwriting knowledge, Landis provided them with a copy of his own An American Werewolf in London, which would not be made until 1981.

      ZAZ used this as a guideline as they wrote Airplane!.