12 Behind-the-Scenes Tales of Kentucky Fried Movie, the Comedy That Inspired Airplane and Animal House

      Without Kentucky Fried Movie, the initial film from Jim Abrahams and his collaborators Jerry and David Zucker, the world may never have seen Animal House, Airplane!, or The Naked Gun series.

      We also might not have witnessed the Oscar-winning drama Out of Africa. (We're completely serious about that: Continue reading.)

      Here are 12 behind-the-scenes anecdotes from Kentucky Fried Movie, one of the key comedies of the 1970s that opened many doors in the industry.

      But First

      United Film Distribution Company – Credit: C/O

      Released in 1977, Kentucky Fried Movie was the first film penned by the comedy trio Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker, who referred to themselves as “nice Jewish boys from Milwaukee.” They began a comedy theater in Wisconsin, relocated to Los Angeles in their 20s, and subsequently entered the film industry.

      Their journey, however, was challenging. They weren’t able to create the film they truly wanted to make—Airplane!—until they first showcased their talents with the outrageous Kentucky Fried Movie. The film also paved the way for director John Landis, who would go on to direct Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Trading Places, Coming to America, and other comedy classics.

      Here’s the story of how the daring and irreverent Kentucky Fried Movie came to fruition.

      Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker Cultivated a Comedic Take on Serious Shows

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

      Growing up, Jim Abrahams along with brothers Jerry and David Zucker watched their fathers work together in a real estate venture.

      In their 2023 book, Surely You Can’t Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane!, Jerry Zucker recounted that they spent countless hours watching serious TV shows like The Untouchables, Sea Hunt, and Mission: Impossible—“shows where the characters were overly serious, and we would shout absurd lines for them to deliver.”

      And in Airplane!, “we actually got those tough-guy actors to say the lines we always wished they would have said.”

      This marked the inception of their comedy style—delivering straight performances with utterly ridiculous content.

      They Were Big Fans of Leave It to Beaver Too

      United Film Distribution Company – Credit: C/O

      Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker, known collectively as ZAZ, also cherished Leave It to Beaver, the wholesome black-and-white family sitcom that aired from 1957-63. The series featured Barbara Billingsley as June Cleaver, Hugh Beaumont as Ward Cleaver, Tony Dow as their teenage son Wally, and Jerry Mathers as the Beaver, or Theodore.

      ZAZ delighted in casting Tony Dow (above, left) for the courtroom scene in Kentucky Fried Movie, while Jerry Zucker took on the role of Theodore.

      In Airplane!, they would famously bring Barbara Billingsley aboard for the jive scene.

      They Inspired a Four-Time Oscar Nominee

      Willem Dafoe in American Psycho. Lionsgate.

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

      A young Willem Dafoe was among those who witnessed an early performance at Kentucky Fried Theater in the early 1970s, courtesy of his older sister Dee Dee, who took him to their show at the University of Wisconsin.

      “That truly made me think, I could do this,” he shared with Esquire in a 2018 interview. “You don’t need to be an industry insider.”

      Shortly after, the group moved to Los Angeles to start a new theater.

      The Fourth ZAZ Member

      Credit: C/O

      Chudnow left the Kentucky Fried team to pursue a personal relationship back in Wisconsin—something that later troubled him.

      When he returned to L.A. and encountered billboards for The Kentucky Fried Movie, he admitted, “that was difficult. I needed therapy to cope with that,” he stated in Surely You Can’t Be Serious.

      Nevertheless, he went on to initiate the cherished Comedy Sportz improv schools and theaters, which remain popular today.

      They Were Unfamiliar with Scriptwriting

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

      They had the concept for a disaster movie parody, inspired by the 1957 airplane drama Zero Hour, but were unsure where to begin. In 1973, they saw John Landis discussing his budget film tribute, Schlock, on The Tonight Show, a project that Johnny Carson had praised. Landis had created that film at the age of 21.

      Zucker contacted him, invited him to a performance, and shared their film concept. Lacking screenwriting knowledge, Landis provided them with a copy of his script for An American Werewolf in London, which he would ultimately produce in 1981.

      ZAZ used it as a guide while writing Air