Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar returned to Wisconsin to promote a new series of the state’s Department of Tourism ads that feature him back in the cockpit, same as he was in the 1980 hit comedy film, “Airplane!” He made an on-court appearance at the Milwaukee Bucks’ Monday, March 3, 114-88 victory over the Utah Jazz and was warmly welcomed by the crowd of just over 10,000 in attendance at the Bradley Center.
Abdul-Jabbar, the all-time leading scorer in NBA history, spent his first six professional seasons with the Bucks after graduating from UCLA. The Bucks won their sole championship in 1971 with Abdul-Jabbar leading the way in only his second season and the team’s third in existence.
The new commercials feature Abdul-Jabbar and “Airplane!” costar Robert Hays piloting a low-flying plane to check out Wisconsin’s landscape and partake in some deadpan yet absurd back-and-forth dialogue that is the trademark of the original film.
Wisconsin natives David and Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, who collectively wrote and directed “Airplane!”, directed the new commercials and were on hand with Hays to greet the crowd and toss out mini-basketballs to fans after the first of the ads was aired on the scoreboard video screen.
Abdul-Jabbar addressed the crowd partway through the first quarter and expressed his appreciation for their support. “I just want to tell all of you that it’s a real pleasure for me to have a chance to come back and visit with you and share a few moments with you,” Abdul-Jabbar declared. “I consistently say that the fans that we had up here in Wisconsin were the best in the world.”
In a pre-game media session, Abdul-Jabbar shared an airport-related story that reflects the devotion of the Bucks fans of his era. “We lost to the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs my rookie year. We fly back from New York on a charter plane. We get to the Milwaukee airport at 2:30 in the morning. There’s 3,400 people out there,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “I’d seen rabid fans at Pauley Pavilion (where UCLA plays home basketball games) but that, that was awesome and I realized that I was in a different kind of place.”
Regarding the continued popularity of his iconic performance in “Airplane!” Abdul-Jabbar was quick to identify where he most often gets requests to step back into his role as Robert Murdock, Pilot. “It usually happens when I’m in airports,” Abdul-Jabbar cracked. He continued on with a story of the time a flight crew strapped him into a spare cockpit seat for a flight from Europe because they said, “We want to be able to tell everybody that we flew with Murdock,” Abdul-Jabbar recalled.
Those wanting to relive their own “Airplane!” memories can view the ads on Wisconsin’s Department of Tourism website or wait until they begin airing in local markets in May.