Casting choices

ZAZ’s key strategy was casting actors known for drama rather than comedy to deliver punchlines with a deadly straight face.

Leslie Nielsen, fresh from Airplane!, was joined by Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalbán, George Kennedy and O.J. Simpson.

Presley was cast after Bo Derek turned the role down, and Kennedy came aboard because the studio insisted on including an Oscar winner.

David Zucker explained: “We thought they were much funnier than the comedians of that time were.”