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"Weird Al" Yankovic Biography (1959-)

Real name, Alfred Matthew Yankovic; born October 23, 1959, in Downey, CA; raised in Lynwood, CA; son of Nick and Mary Yankovic. Addresses: Contact:Close Personal Friends of Al, PMB No. 4018, 8033 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles,CA 90046. E-mail: cpfoa@juno.com.

Nationality

American

Gender

Male

Occupation

Musician, actor, composer, producer, director, writer; musical satirist who parodies popular songs

Birth Details

October 23, 1959

Downey, California, United States

Famous Works

• CREDITS
• Film Appearances
• Himself, The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (also known as The Naked Gun), Paramount, 1988
• Himself, Tapeheads, De Laurentiis Entertainment Group/Avenue, 1988
• George Newman, UHF (also known as The Vidiot from UHF), Orion, 1989
• Punk, The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear, Paramount, 1991
• Himself, Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult, Paramount, 1994
• (Uncredited) Himself in title sequence, Spy Hard, Buena Vista, 1996
• Clothing store customer, Nothing Sacred, Ex Nihilo Films, 1997
• Desperation Boulevard, 1998
• Himself, BH-1: Behind the Dementia (documentary), 2000
• Film Work
• (As Al Yankovic) Director of title sequence, Spy Hard, Buena Vista, 1996
• Television Appearances
• Series
• Himself and various characters, The "Weird Al" Show, CBS, 1997-98
• Television Work
• Series
• (As Al Yankovic) Executive producer, The "Weird Al" Show, CBS, 1997-98
• Television Appearances
• Movies
• Jay Levy, "Safety Patrol," The Wonderful World of Disney, ABC, 1998
• Specials
• Welcome to the Fun Zone, NBC, 1984
• Host, AL-TV, MTV, 1985
• Comic Relief, HBO, 1986
• "Weird Al" Yankovic: The Complete Al, Showtime, 1988
• Just for Laughs: The Montreal International Comedy Festival, Showtime, 1990
• Himself, Dr. Demento Anniversary Special, Comedy Central, 1991
• The All-New Circus of the Stars and Side Show XVII, CBS, 1992
• Hurricane Relief, Showtime, 1992
• Giles Standish, Living and Working in Space: The Countdown Has Begun, PBS, 1993
• Himself, "Weird Al" Yankovic: (There's No) Going Home (also known as "Weird Al" Yankovic: Going Home), The Disney Channel, 1996
• Song performer, Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, ABC, 1996
• Himself, "Weird Al" Yankovic-Live!, VH1, 1999
• Host, Fairway to Heaven, VH1, 1999
• Host, VH-AL, VH1, 1999
• Appeared in The "Weird Al" Collection, VH1; hosted AlMusic,MuchMusic.
• Awards Presentations
• Presenter, The American Video Awards, 1985
• The American Music Awards, 1986
• MTV Video Music Awards, MTV, 1989
• The American Music Awards, 1994
• The 1996 Billboard Music Awards, 1996
• The 23rd Annual American Music Awards, 1996
• Presenter, The 24th Annual American Music Awards, 1997
• The 12th Annual American Comedy Awards, 1998
• Episodic
• The cabbage man, "Miss Stardust," Amazing Stories, NBC, 1987
• Himself, "Celebrity Family Double Dare," Family Double Dare, Fox and Nickelodeon, 1988
• Himself, "The Human Grace," Parker Lewis Can't Lose (also known as Parker Lewis), Fox, 1991
• Murray the Mouth, "Mathnet: Off the Record," Square One TV, PBS, 1993
• Himself, "Banjo," Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, The Cartoon Network, 1994
• Voice characterization, Eek! the Cat! (also known as Eek! and the Terrible Thunderlizards, Eek! the Cat and the Terrible Thunderlizards, and Eek! Stravaganza; animated), Fox, 1996
• Himself, "Drew between the Rock and a Hard Place," The Drew Carey Show, ABC, 1998
• Himself, Behind the Music: "Weird Al" Yankovic (also known as Behind the Music), VH1, 1999
• Himself, Total Request Live (also known as TRL), MTV, 1999
• Host, The List (five episodes), VH1, 2000
• Also appeared in Ed's Night Party, City-TV; Just Say Julie, MTV; Video Timeline, VH1; Wheel of Fortune, syndicated; and Win Ben Stein's Money, Comedy Central. Depicted in CelebrityDeath Match, MTV.
• Music Videos
• Music videos include "Amish Paradise," "Bedrock Anthem," "Dare to Be Stupid," "Eat It," "Fat," "Gump," "I Lost on Jeopardy," "I Love Rocky Road," "Like a Surgeon," "Living with a Hernia," "Ricky," "The Saga Begins," and "SmellsLike Nirvana."
• Television Work
• Music Videos
• Director of his own music videos, including "Amish Paradise," "Bedrock Anthem," "Gump," "Headline News," and "The Saga Begins." Director of the BlackCrowes music video "Only a Fool"; directed part of Hanson's music video "The River."
• Other Television Appearances
• Appeared in Italian and Japanese television programs.
• Radio Appearances
• Appeared in episodes of radio programs, including The Dr. Demento Show, syndicated. Also appeared in radio promotional messages.
• RECORDINGS
• Albums
• "Weird Al" Yankovic, Scotti Brothers, 1983
• In 3-D (also known as "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D), Scotti Brothers, 1984
• Dare to Be Stupid, Scotti Brothers, 1985
• Polka Party, Scotti Brothers, 1986
• Even Worse, Scotti Brothers, 1988
• UHF (soundtrack), Rock 'n' Roll/CBS, 1989
• UHF and Other Stuff, Rock 'n' Roll/Sony/Columbia, 1989
• (With Wendy Carlos) Peter and the Wolf/Carnival of the Animals, Part 2, CBS Masterworks, 1990
• And producer, Off the Deep End, Scotti Brothers, 1992
• And producer, Alapalooza, Scotti Brothers, 1993
• The TV Album, Scotti Brothers, 1995
• And producer, Bad Hair Day, Scotti Brothers, 1996
• And producer, Running with Scissors, Volcano, 1999
• Compilation Albums
• Greatest Hits, Scotti Brothers, 1989
• Al-Hits, Sony, 1990
• The Food Album, Rock 'n' Roll, 1993
• Permanent Record, Rock 'n' Roll/Scotti Brothers, 1994
• And producer, Greatest Hits, Volume 2, Scotti Brothers, 1994
• Albums with Others
• Performer, Unless Otherwise Noted
• SLO Grown, 1978
• Death, Glory and Retribution, EMI, 1985
• Transformers: The Movie (soundtrack), BMG/Zoo/Volcano/Pavement/CZ,1986
• Dr. Demento Presents the Greatest Christmas Novelty CD of All Time, Wea/Atlantic/Rhino, 1989
• The Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary Collection, Rhino, 1991
• Arranger and producer, Babalu Music!, Columbia, 1991
• There Was Love (The Divorce Songs), RCA/Scotti Brothers, 1993
• Crispin Hellion Glover, Big Problem Does Not Equal the Solution. The Solution = Let It Be, Enigma, 1993
• And producer (with others), The Flintstones (soundtrack), MCA, 1994
• The Dr. Demento 25th Anniversary Collection, Rhino, 1995
• Fun Rock, Sony, 1995
• Billboard Christmas Four-Pack, Wea/Atlantic/Rhino, 1996
• Producer (with others), Those Darn Accordions, No Strings Attached, Globe/City Hall, 1996
• Christmas Comedy Classics, Volume 2, Priority, 1997
• Working for a Living, BMG/Zoo/Volcano/Pavement/CZ, 1997
• The Dr. Demento 30th Anniversary Collection: Dementia 2000, Rhino,2000
• Also appears on the albums Dr. Demento's Basement Tapes #7 andDr. Demento's Basement Tapes #8, both Demento Society; and SLOUnplugged II.
• EPs
• (With others) Placebo, 1981
• The Saga Begins, Avex Japan, 2000
• Singles
• "My Bologna," Capitol, 1979
• "Smells Like Nirvana," Scotti Brothers, 1992
• "You Don't Love Me Anymore," Scotti Brothers, 1992
• "Bedrock Anthem," Scotti Brothers, 1993
• "Jurassic Park," Scotti Brothers, 1993
• "Headline News," Scotti Brothers, 1994
• "Amish Paradise," Scotti Brothers, 1996
• "Gump," Scotti Brothers, 1996
• "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi," BMG International, 1999
• Other singles include "Another One Rides the Bus," "Dare to Be Stupid," "Eat It," "Fat," "I Lost on Jeopardy," "I Love Rocky Road," "King of Suede," "Like a Surgeon," "Living with a Hernia," "Ricky," and "The Saga Begins."
• Videos and DVDs
• Performer and director, The Compleat Al, CBS Video, 1985
• "Weird Al" Yankovic: Complete, Fox/CBS Video, 1991
• "Weird Al" Yankovic: Greatest Hits, BMG Video, 1992
• "Weird Al" Yankovic Video Library (also known as Video Library), Scotti Brothers Pictures, 1992
• Alapalooza: The Videos, BMG Video, 1994
• Bad Hair Day: The Videos, Scotti Brothers Pictures, 1996
• The Best of Ed's Night Party, Morningstar Entertainment, 1996
• Himself, George Newman, and various characters, "Weird Al" Yankovic: The Videos, \[DVD\], 1996
• Michael Jackson: History on Film--Volume II, Sony, 1997
• Videos: AC-3, Image, 1998
• "Weird Al" Yankovic--Live!, [DVD], 1999
• Also appeared in Video Compilation, Pioneer; Complete Video Collection; and Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues.
• Video Games
• Tesla Red Planet (also known as Red Planet), Virtual WorldEntertainment, 1999

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals:

• People Weekly, April 16, 1984, p. 49.

Other:

• The Official "Weird Al" Yankovic Web Site, August 17, 2000 http://www.weirdal.com.