David Zucker (born October 16, 1947) is an American film director.
Zucker was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Charlotte, an actress, and Burton Zucker, a real estate developer. He graduated from Shorewood High School. Zucker is married to Dr. Danielle Zucker, with whom he has two children, Charles and Sarah. He is the brother of filmmaker Jerry Zucker, brother of actress Susan Breslau.
Zucker's movies include The Kentucky Fried Movie in 1977, The Naked Gun in 1988, The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear in 1991, BASEketball in 1998, Scary Movie 3 in 2003, its sequel Scary Movie 4 in 2006, Scary Movie 5 (due in 2008).[citation needed]
He co-directed several films including Airplane! in 1980 and Top Secret! in 1984; along with his brother, Jerry Zucker, and Jim Abrahams, the trio make up the ZAZ team of directors. He has also 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 four Scary Movies).
ZAZ and Proft are renowned to have created 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 (who has starred in all four of the Scary Movie series). In his movies, his mother is often cast in a small bit part (like one of the Lucille Ball impersonators in Rat Race, and Vincent Ludwig's secretary Dominique in The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!).
David Zucker has stated that his dream project is a Davy Crockett biopic.[citation needed] He mentioned his enthusiasm for the Davy Crockett project during an interview in 2006 for the feature length documentary, "That Guy: The Legacy of Dub Taylor", on the life of Dub Taylor, which has received support from the Taylor Family and many of Dub's previous co-workers, including Bill Cosby, Peter Fonda, Dixie Carter, Don Collier, Cheryl Rogers-Barnett, as well as many others. The project is scheduled to have its World Premiere at Taylor's Childhood Hometown of Augusta, Georgia on April 14, 2007. The project is from Executive Producers Stokes and James Kicklighter from JamesWorks Entertainment and Professor Pauper Productions. Part of his interview is on YouTube.
A campaign contributions search for Zucker, once a longtime liberal Democrat, shows his first right-leaning contribution as US$2647 to ClubforGrowth.NET, a website which hosts political videos including his initial anti-Kerry video. This donation is in line with his change to the Republican party, and vote for George W. Bush in 2004, all of which are reportedly due to his concerns over national security.[citation needed] Further using campaign donations as a guide, his brother Jerry apparently continues to identify as a Democrat. On October 10, 2006, the Drudge Report published a link to a political ad Zucker produced and later appeared on Youtube. The ad was intended for use by GOP organizations, but was considered too controversial by GOP Strategists.[citation needed] In a quote from a Drudge Report exclusive:
In the ad, Zucker....recreates former Clinton Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's 2000 visit to North Korea. During the visit, Secretary Albright presented North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il with a basketball autographed by former NBA superstar Michael Jordan.
The actress, Adele Stasilli-Fernandez, playing Secretary Albright is shown presenting Kim Jong Il with the Michael Jordan basketball, painting the walls of Osama bin Laden's Afghanistan cave and turning a blind eye to suicide bombers. In one scene, her skirt rips as she changes the tire of a Middle Eastern dictator's limousine.
One GOP strategist said "jaws dropped" when the ad was first viewed. "Nobody could believe Zucker thought any political organization could use this ad. It makes a point, but it's way over the top."
On October 23, 2006, a second Zucker video, “The Taxman�, was posted to YouTube. This humorous clip suggests Democrats, if elected, would raise taxes affecting all people, no matter their income level, age, or political affiliation. On December 18, 2006, a third was posted, this time with the Iraq Study Group in his sights. This video compares study group's recommendations with that of the British appeasement of Hitler prior to World War II.
