ACTOR
'Weird Al' Yankovic
44 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
36 Interesting Facts About 'Weird Al' Yankovic
- #001
'Weird Al' Yankovic was offered the opening slot on the European leg of Michael Jackson's "Bad" tour. He turned it down out of respect because he was working on his film UHF (1989) at the time.
- #002
After the incident with Coolio over "Amish Paradise," Weird Al began getting permission for his parodies directly from the artists rather than through intermediaries.
- #003
Weird Al's single "Amish Paradise" (a parody of "Gangsta's Paradise") drew the displeasure of rap star Coolio, who claimed the song was too serious to be parodied and that the parody disrespected it. Weird Al said his record company had told him Coolio had granted permission for the parody, but the rapper refused to give that approval (the confusion appears to have stemmed from a breakdown in the chain of communication, with the "yes" given by the record company without Coolio's knowledge). In response, Weird Al wrote Coolio a letter of apology, but (to date) he has not replied. No legal action was taken. Ironically, "Gangsta's Paradise" itself is a sampled reworking of Stevie Wonder's single "Pastime Paradise."
- #004
He wrote "Yoda" (a parody of The Kinks' "Lola") in 1980, but could not release it until his third album, "Dare to Be Stupid," in 1985 because Ray Davies considered the song too personal to parody. After the huge success of "Eat It," however, Davies was convinced that Weird Al could pull off the parody while staying faithful to the original.
- #005
Although he does not need permission from artists or groups to parody their songs, by law he must pay royalties for any parody that directly samples lyrics, music or other elements from another song. Because of the number of parodies he has written, recorded and performed, Weird Al's royalties rank among the most complicated payments in the music industry.
- #006
Contrary to popular belief, Weird Al is not obligated to obtain explicit permission from the composers of the songs he parodies — courts in the United States and other countries have consistently granted broad latitude to parody and have almost always ruled that it is protected under the principles of free expression and social criticism (the exceptions are usually cases where the resulting work violates principles of good taste). Nevertheless, out of respect for his colleagues in the entertainment industry, he has always asked for permission and (despite the Coolio dispute) has consistently honored the artists' wishes. While permission is not mandatory, paying royalties for direct imitations *is* mandatory.
- #007
His parents, Nick Yankovic and Mary Yankovic, were killed on April 9, 2004, when a closed fireplace flue caused their home to fill with carbon monoxide.
- #008
At the height of his "Eat It" fame, he made a brief appearance in a Diet Coke commercial, spoofing Michael Jackson's Pepsi sponsorship. The ad showed a figure in a "Thriller"-style jacket from behind, who then turned around to reveal that it was Weird Al.
- #009
The "Fat" video was shot in the same parking lot as Michael Jackson's "Bad" and featured several of the same actors and dancers. The fat suit he wore (it weighed 40 pounds) caused him to lose weight; this was not only because it made him sweat so much, but also because seeing himself as strangely obese made him want to eat less.
- #010
He took his first accordion lesson on October 22, 1966, one day before his seventh birthday.
- #011
His official website, WeirdAl.com, has long been run by his longtime drummer, Jon Schwartz (better known as "Bermuda" Schwartz).
- #013
Because the radio disc jockey was the first person to play his songs on air, he thanks Dr. Demento (Barry Hansen) specifically on every one of his albums.
- #014
Although he uses the original music in his imitations, it is not the original master track. He and his band take the original and re-record it in a new key by ear.
- #015
Al skipped the second grade, which is partly why he finished high school at a very young age.
- #016
Weird Al wrote the song "One More Minute" after being dumped by his girlfriend at the time. He wanted to redo the song as a duet with Frank Sinatra, but Sinatra turned down Weird Al's invitation.
- #018
He has led the same rock band since 1982.
- #021
'Weird Al' Yankovic appeared in all four Naked Gun films: The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988), The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991), Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994) and Naked Gun (2025).
- #023
Bill Mumy is a mutual friend of 'Weird Al' Yankovic and his wife, and it was he who introduced them.
- #024
'Weird Al' Yankovic directed music videos for other artists, most notably The Black Crowes' "Only a Fool" and boy band Hanson's "The River" (itself a parody of Titanic (1997)).
- #027
'Weird Al' Yankovic's music video collection 'Weird Al' Yankovic: The Ultimate Video Collection (2003) went Platinum.
- #028
'Weird Al' Yankovic became MAD magazine's first guest editor.
- #029
"Eat It" was 'Weird Al' Yankovic's highest-charting US single on the Billboard Hot 100 for more than twenty years, until "White & Nerdy".
- #030
Alongside his signature song parodies, most of 'Weird Al' Yankovic's albums include a track on which he and his band perform polka-style (but lyrically faithful) renditions of popular hits (he is an accordionist, after all). Although "Hot Rocks Polka" (from the UHF (1989) soundtrack) is a collection of The Rolling Stones' hits, most of these were eclectic mashups of recent hit songs, and the album "Alapalooza" included a full polka version of Queen's classic "Bohemian Rhapsody" titled "Bohemian Polka".
- #031
'Weird Al' Yankovic recorded his self-titled debut album at Cherokee Recording Studios (1982). The album sold more than 500,000 copies.
- #032
After 'Weird Al' Yankovic did a short polka parody of "Jocko Homo", members of Devo ran into him at a party and asked why they didn't deserve a full song parody. Weird Al responded with the pastiche track "Dare to Be Stupid". The members of Devo were reportedly not impressed.
- #033
Together with Barnes & Barnes, 'Weird Al' Yankovic wrote a parody of George Harrison's "Taxman" titled "PacMan", but it was never commercially released.
- #034
'Weird Al' Yankovic directed some of his own music videos, including "Amish Paradise", "Gump", "Headline News" and "Bedrock Anthem".
- #035
The Star Wars films inspired two of 'Weird Al' Yankovic's best-known and best-loved parodies: "Yoda", from "Lola" and Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980); and "The Saga Begins", from Don McLean's "American Pie" and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999).
- #036
For the "UHF" music video, 'Weird Al' Yankovic parodied the video sequence for Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love". Ten years after the premiere of "UHF", Shania Twain parodied the same idea for her "Man, I Feel Like a Woman" music video.
- #038
'Weird Al' Yankovic has joked that he was born in the elevator on the way to the delivery room.
- #039
The contract that allowed 'Weird Al' Yankovic's records to be released by labels outside the United States also allowed those labels to use different cover art. As a result, genuinely strange covers were produced, particularly in Japan and other non-English-speaking regions.
- #040
In 1997, 'Weird Al' Yankovic had a Saturday morning series that lasted one season.
- #041
'Weird Al' Yankovic produced "Babalu Music," an album collecting musical numbers from the television series I Love Lucy (1951), and it includes his edited medley of Desi Arnaz tunes.
- #042
'Weird Al' Yankovic used the money he earned from "My Bologna" to found his own short-lived label, Placebo Records, which released the record as his second release (an "EP" recording of only four songs). Copies of the record are hot collector's items.
- #043
'Weird Al' Yankovic was born on the same date as Sam Raimi.
- #044
When 'Weird Al' Yankovic made a guest appearance in a 1998 episode of The Drew Carey Show (1995), the producers had him wear a mustache and, after leaving that look behind, special glasses, because most people knew his old appearance (and were used to it) and could not fully recognize the new one.
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