Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is going on an Airplane again. The NBA legend has decided to reprise his role as Roger Murdock in the comedy "Airplane!" for a set of commercials.
The Wisconsin Department of Tourism is releasing a set of ads which will feature Kareem and his former co-star Robert Hayes, who played Ted Striker in the Airplane film. David and Jerry Zucker, along with Jim Abrams, who directed and wrote the film, will team up to direct the ads, the Business Journal reports.
"Airplane!" was a 1980's comedy film about an airplane crew that became ill during a flight. The only one was was able to land the plane was an ex-pilot who has a fear of flying. In the film, Abdul-Jabbar wears a Lakers jersey as the plane starts to crash, but he will be wearing a Milwaukee Bucks jersey for the ad.
Abdul-Jabbar is known as a basketball star for winning four championships with the "Showtime" Los Angeles Lakers. He won six championship rings and six MVP awards during his 20-year career as a 7-foot centre, but what many don't know is that he started his career with the Milwaukee Bucks, making him a good choice for Wisconsin tourism ads.
The Hall-of-Famer is now repaying Wisconsin for help making his NBA career a success. Three different ads will feature footage of him returning to the cockpit of an airplane and will show aerial footage of the state.
The ads "were shot in the original cockpit from the iconic 1980 comedy at the Air Hollywood Studio in Los Angeles, and will debut at the Wisconsin Governor's Conference on Tourism next March in Lake Geneva", reported Fox.
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