"Weird Al" Yankovic has been a musical mainstay for decades, and many artists consider it an honor to have their songs parodied by the man. In addition to his musical spoofs, Yankovic is well-known for being a genuinely nice person who just doesn't have any skeletons in his closet. That said, he has still led quite an interesting life, from the hilarious way he recorded his very first hit to the time he collaborated with Brian Wilson (on serious music). The musician continues to make popular parodies to this day, so let's take a look at the untold truth of "Weird Al" Yankovic.
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00:00You wouldn't think a star as squeaky clean as Weird Al Yankovic would have anything to
00:04hide.
00:05And you're absolutely right.
00:06But since there's nothing scandalous about his career, Weird Al has avoided the harsh
00:10scrutiny of the media spotlight, meaning there are plenty of shocking facts about the musician
00:14you may not have heard until now.
00:16And every weekend at the Renaissance Fair, got my name on my underwear
00:20Here's a look at the untold truth of Weird Al Yankovic.
00:23No relation
00:24Given the shared last name, and a mutual gift for the accordion, it'd be reasonable for
00:28anyone to presume that Weird Al Yankovic and America's polka king Frankie Yankovic
00:32are related.
00:33But while they are friends, they aren't actually family.
00:37Frankie, there's been a British invasion, there's been a disco invasion, do you think
00:41the country's ready for a polka invasion?
00:44I think it's way overdue, Al, I'll be honest with you.
00:47Weird Al explained in an interview that he's had a lot of trouble getting people to believe
00:50in.
00:51Sometimes, after explaining to a reporter for the third time that Frankie wasn't my
00:54dad, I would read the article and it would say, there's obviously a rift in the Yankovic
00:59family, Al won't even admit that Frankie's his father.
01:04Academic genius
01:06If Al's unique skill as a parodist had failed to turn into a lifetime gig, there's no question
01:10that he would have been smart enough to make his way in some other field.
01:14Al started kindergarten a year early, skipped second grade, and graduated from high school
01:18in Linwood, California at 16.
01:20He went on to attend California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, where
01:25he received his bachelor's degree in architecture.
01:27We could have had the next Frank Lloyd Wright.
01:29Instead, we got this.
01:31Oh my, my, this here Anakin guy, maybe Vader someday later, now he's just a small fry.
01:41A debt to Michael
01:42Weird Al is quick to acknowledge that he effectively owes his career to Michael Jackson, first
01:47for letting him parody Beat It as Eat It, and then letting him transform Bad into Fap.
01:52He was always a great sport, had a terrific sense of humor.
01:56In fact, when we did the Fap video, that was actually Michael Jackson's Subway set.
02:00That was the one that he used for his Moonwalker long-form video.
02:03So he was always very accommodating and a fan of my work.
02:08But Jackson also helped Al by not letting him parody one of his songs.
02:12He wanted to turn Black or White into Snack All Night, because of course that's what he
02:16would call it, but Jackson refused.
02:18Weird Al told Rolling Stone that Jackson thought it was more of a message song, and he didn't
02:22feel as comfortable with a parody of that one.
02:24Instead, Al decided to parody a new band called Nirvana.
02:28Their resulting hit, Smells Like Nirvana, legitimized Al's act as more than just a one-note
02:32Michael Jackson parody.
02:42Tofu pot pie?
02:44Not every artist has been cool with Al parodying their tunes.
02:48For example, Paul McCartney didn't want Al to turn Live and Let Die into Chicken Pot
02:52Pie.
02:53Paul didn't want me to do it because he's a strict vegetarian, and he didn't want a
02:57parody that condoned the consumption of animal flesh.
03:00That was the whole thing.
03:01He said, no, you can do anything else you want, you can do, like, Tofu Pot Pie.
03:06But it was Prince who was most famous for turning down Al's requests, not once, but
03:10several times.
03:11Every single time, in fact.
03:13Al told People magazine that,
03:14"...I had a parody of Let's Go Crazy that was about the Beverly Hillbillies, and I wanted
03:18to do something funny with When Doves Cry and Kiss.
03:21For 1999, I wanted to do an infomercial where you could get anything you wanted by dialing
03:261-800-something-1999."
03:28Oh, what might have been.
03:30Double Jeopardy
03:32When Al released his parody of the Gregg Kin band's Jeopardy!, the game show had been absent
03:36from the airwaves for half a decade.
03:38The series was created by Merv Griffin, and after Al performed I Lost on Jeopardy! on
03:42Griffin's long-running talk show, the host gushed over the song's massive influence.
03:47"...Al, Al, what you've done for me, I can't tell you.
03:51With the great success of Jeopardy!'s my show, with the great success of that record, Jeopardy!'s
03:56coming back September of this year."
03:58Yeah, that's great!
03:59Hey!
04:00Not bad for a guy who couldn't win a TV game show.
04:03"...Losers, in other words."
04:05Well…
04:06Honorary Beach Boy
04:09Legendary musician Brian Wilson's Sweet Insanity album abruptly disappeared from the Warner
04:13Brothers' 1991 release schedule when the master tapes were supposedly stolen.
04:18Among the material lost?
04:19Let's Stick Together, featuring none other than Weird Al on accordion.
04:23Wilson didn't think the tapes being stolen was particularly a big loss.
04:26He told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that,
04:28"...we thought that maybe people wouldn't like it, so we junked it."
04:31Judging by Weird Al's other Beach Boys-inspired work, that seems like a big mistake.
04:36"...Woo-woo-woo-woo-woo-woo-woo-woo-woo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooo-oooooo!
04:40Don't you know you gotta flow, flow, flow, pancreatic juice!"
04:46Working without a net
04:48Given how much it costs to insure actors these days, it's unlikely that we'll see a new version
04:52of Circus of the Stars anytime soon.
04:55But the former primetime staple used to be a thrilling bit of fun for viewers, particularly
04:58when the acts involved some danger.
05:00"...This is a seriously dangerous act.
05:03Why you?"
05:04Well, I know they originally wanted Oprah Winfrey to do it, but I guess she was busy
05:08tonight or something, and I was kind of a last-minute replacement."
05:10Al's act certainly qualifies.
05:12He sat — and occasionally even stood — atop a sway pole 55 feet in the air, with no safety
05:18net below him.
05:19Al revealed on his website that this was not trick photography.
05:23My manager says if he gets any more offers for me to be on Circus of the Stars, he's
05:26not going to tell me about them.
05:29Yeesh.
05:30Tragic loss
05:32Stories don't get much sadder than the one about the death of Al's parents.
05:36On April 9, 2004, Nick and Mary Yankovic, aged 86 and 81 respectively, were found dead
05:42in their home, having accidentally succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning after starting
05:46a fire in the fireplace with the flue closed.
05:49Al's parents were familiar to his fans, having appeared in his mockumentary The Complete
05:53Al, as well as in his episode of VH1's Behind the Music, so the news of their death was
05:58startling and saddening.
05:59No one, however, was more shocked and devastated than Al himself, who inspired more than a
06:04few tears with his thoughtful statement about his parents' life and death.
06:10He's a director
06:11When you've done as many videos as Al has, it makes sense you'd learn a few things about
06:15the directorial process, which may be why he decided to step behind the camera in 1986.
06:20Since then, Al has directed 14 videos for himself, including Amish Paradise, White & Nerdy,
06:25and Tacky.
06:26Not to mention videos for musical acts ranging from frequent collaborator Ben Folds to Hansen.
06:32Weird Al and Hansen?
06:33Not even close to the weirdest thing Al has done.
06:36Bantha milk, so creamy and blue, squeezed from a space yak, it's healthy for you, hey!
06:42Sorry, Bob, not feeling that one.
06:45Got anything else?
06:46Yeah, sure, here's a new one.
06:47The number 27
06:49Since his career began in earnest in the 80s, Al has had a habit of incorporating the number
06:5327 into his videos, his album covers, and even his lyrics.
06:57"...doing a promotional stump, there's a great big purple sign up front that says every 27th
07:02customer will get a ball-peen hammer free!"
07:05So is the number 27 significant at all, Al?
07:08What are you doing?
07:12This means something.
07:13Al explained it all in an interview.
07:16I thought it was fairly obvious, but if you need me to explain it, it's the cube root
07:19of 19,683.
07:20Oh, well, that explains it.