The Mr. Showbiz Interview Archive
By Rick Schultz
JERRY ZUCKER directed Ghost, the fourth-highest-grossing film of all time, but he is not exactly a household name. ("Every three weeks I go into a store and someone will see the name on my credit card, and say, 'Are you the Jerry Zucker that . . .' It's just enough, but it's not real fame--it's toy fame.") He does, however, bear a strong physical resemblance to another Jerry--one who is very famous indeed. ("It's amazing. I'm mistaken for Jerry Seinfeld more than for Jerry Zucker. That's really my fame.")
He also knows many famous people: two of them--Sean Connery and Richard Gere, star in his new film, First Knight. ("Sean is larger than life; he's an intimidating presence, a legend--tall and imposing--and he knows how to use his powers of persuasion.") He has only nice things to say about Gere, whom some directors have found difficult. ("If we disagreed about something, he'd do it anyway, saying, 'You'll decide in the editing room.' He was really giving as an actor.")
He says that while his own background is in comedy--with his brother David and friend Jim Abrahams, he was responsible for the slapstick classics Airplane! and The Naked Gun--he discovered during Ghost that he enjoyed making romantic films. That discovery led him to First Knight.
He says the film was enjoyable, but he admits that he was completely unprepared for the rigors of directing a $60 million period film featuring many big battle scenes. ("I had no idea what I was getting into. My brother David and I kid about not needing to go bungeejumping because we direct movies.")
He was born on March 11, 1950, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His father was in real estate; his mother was a teacher. They still live in Milwaukee. ("My dad was funnier, but my mother was more theatrical. When she was younger, she was an actress, but she gave it up to raise us.")
He couldn't wait to get out of high school. ("School was not generally a great experience for me. I was not the greatest student. ") He used to have a recurrent dream about school. ("It was the end of the semester and I hadn't studied and didn't know where the exam was, but it wasn't a nightmare so much as a replay of historical events.") Nevertheless, he went on to college at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and majored in education. ("College was fun because it was Madison in the late '60s and early '70s.")
He taught high school for one year, but he was already interested in a career in entertainment. He, brother David, and pal Abrahams formed a live performing troupe, The Kentucky Fried Theatre, in Madison in 1969. ("We wrote and directed the live show. We acted not because we were good--it was cheaper. We did a lot of satire. We also developed a very fast pace--keep 'em laughing--next joke, next plot point. But we didn't want to be doing live theatre for the rest of our lives. We weren't really great performers, so we aimed towards film. The goal was always to get people to laugh.")
They moved The Kentucky Fried Theatre to Los Angeles in 1972. They broke into movies in 1977 with The Kentucky Fried Movie, which they wrote and John Landis directed. Three years later, they got the chance to direct-as a team--and hit the big time with Airplane! He says that the partnership worked well. ("We had our share of arguments, but the good thing is that there were three of us--there was always a decision. It was a democracy. Had there been four or six, there would have been a problem.")
Eventually, the three of them decided to tackle projects individually. David directed a comedy, The Naked Gun. Abrahams also directed a comedy, Big Business. Jerry directed a supernatural romantic drama called Ghost.
His wife, Janet, executive-produced First Knight. He married her eight years ago and relies heavily on her judgment. ("She's the one who read 'Ghost' and said, 'You've got to do this."') They have two children--a seven-year-old daughter and a three-year-old son--both of whom appear in First Knight.
He says that while he has, in the comedic sense, "killed" many an audience member, he has never punched or kicked anyone in real life. ("I certainly would have liked to, but the problem is that I've never gotten close enough to a film reviewer.")
He enjoys food, particularly bananas. ("I eat a lot of bananas. I don't know why. I don't watch my diet--I love bananas and ice cream.")
He likes the idea that Bo Derek sleeps in the nude. ("I wear the pajamas that Bo Derek doesn't.") He says he needs twenty-two hours of sleep a night, but gets only about six. He sleeps in a king-size bed and keeps the windows shut. ("The flies get in. Maybe I should put up a screen.")