Contrary to popular misconception, the weirdest things about "Weird Al" Yankovic aren't his accordion, passion for polka or even his love of Hawaiian shirts. Throughout his decades-long career, the beloved parody artist has lived up to his name, earning his fair-share of "weird" tidbits from his continual time in the limelight.
From his impact on Family Guy to his strangest first date move, here are the 10 weirdest facts about "Weird Al" Yankovic.
1
Lucky There’s (Not) A Family Guy
“[When] Weird Al was developing ‘The Weird Al Show’, Seth MacFarlane pitched him an animated segment, which Al didn't go with. The segment was later developed into ‘Family Guy’.”
2
Grammy Gains
Not only was Chamillionaire impressed with Weird Al’s rapping chops on “White & Nerdy,” – "He's actually rapping pretty good on it, it's crazy,” the artist said — he also said the song helped him win a Grammy Award for “Ridin’.” "That parody was the reason I won the Grammy, because it made the record so big it was undeniable,” Chamillionaire said. “It was so big overseas that people were telling me they had heard my version of Weird Al's song."
3
Smells Like Tony Hawk?
A young Tony Hawk appeared in the 1992 music video for “Smells Like Nirvana,” a fact Weird Al didn’t even know until the skater posted about it roughly 20 years later.
4
Not-So-White And Not-So-Nerdy
Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, then famous for Mad TV, both appeared in the music video for “White & Nerdy.”
5
Star Detours
“When Disney bought Lucasfilm, they cancelled an upcoming animated Star Wars series which starred, among others, Weird Al Yankovic. They had already made 39 episodes comprising two seasons.”
6
Albuquerque
“Weird Al" Yankovic did not intend his song ‘Albuquerque’ to be well-received as he wrote it as a joke specifically to ‘annoy people for 12 minutes.’ It ended up becoming one of his most popular songs.”
7
Quite an Impression
“Weird Al” Yankovic would take dates to see The Naked Gun without telling them he was in it. He would also wear the same Hawaiian shirt he wore in the movie.”
8
Not a Black or White Issue
“Michael Jackson was a big fan of Weird Al, but requested that he not record a parody of 'Black or White' because the message was too important.”
9
Beats Me!
“While 'Beat It' by Michael Jackson peaked at #3 in Australia, 'Eat It' by Weird Al Yankovic peaked at #1."
10
Reaching Nirvana
“Weird Al Yankovic asked Kurt Cobain to parody 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' that Kurt asked him if it would be about food, and Al said it would be about how no one could understand his lyrics. Kurt found that extremely funny, and said absolutely.”
