"Weird Al" Yankovic

FEW WOULD HAVE GUESSED that "Weird Al" Yankovic — who as a shy, accordion-playing teenager got his start sending in homemade tapes to the Dr. Demento Radio Show — would go on to become a pop culture icon and the biggest-selling comedy recording artist of all time, with classic song and music video parodies such as "Eat It," "Like a Surgeon," "Smells Like Nirvana," "Amish Paradise," "White & Nerdy" and "Word Crimes." Now in his fourth decade as America's foremost song parodist, he has been the recipient of numerous awards, including five Grammys® (out of sixteen total nominations) and a string of Gold and Platinum albums totaling over 12 million in career sales.

Weird Al's 2014 album, the Grammy Award-winning Mandatory Fun, became the first comedy album in history to debut at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, and the first to reach the top of the chart since 1963. Yankovic set the U.S. record on Spotify for having the most tracks from one album in the viral top 10 at one time, taking the top four spots. In addition, the single "Word Crimes" debuted in the Billboard Top 40, making Al one of only three artists to have had their own Top 40 singles in each of the last four decades (the other two being Michael Jackson and Madonna).

Yankovic's recording career was commemorated in November 2017 by the Legacy Recordings release of Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of "Weird Al" Yankovic, a remastered 15-disc box set (including a rarities album) plus a 120-page book of archival photos, all housed in a replica of Weird Al's trademark accordion. The box set earned Yankovic his fifth Grammy award, for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package. That year he also wrote and performed "The North Korea Polka (Please Don't Nuke Us)" on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO). In March 2018 Al recorded "The Hamilton Polka," a frantic tour-de-force mash-up of 14 songs from the Broadway smash, commissioned by Lin-Manuel Miranda himself and released as part of his "Hamildrops" series.

A tireless concert performer known for his decades of high-octane multi-media shows, Yankovic performed in 2019 in 64 cities to packed, multi-generational audiences with his Strings Attached Tour, where he was accompanied at every show by his longtime original band members, background singers, and a full symphony orchestra. The tour included stops at such iconic venues and festivals as Wolf Trap in Washington D.C., the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, and Forest Hills Stadium in New York City.

In the spring of 2022, Yankovic set out on his massive, 133-show tour The Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour, where he and his band play a different set list every night, comprised almost entirely of his original (non-parody) material. The '22 tour culminated in sold out performances at The Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. 2023 will bring the final leg of the Vanity Tour to concert halls throughout Europe and Australia.

Among Yankovic's vast TV and movie work are appearances on The Simpsons, 30 Rock, The Goldbergs, and How I Met Your Mother, live performances on the Primetime Emmy Awards, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon, as well as his own concert specials for Disney, VH1 and Comedy Central. In 1989 Orion released his now cult classic film UHF. His prolific voice acting work includes roles on Bojack Horseman, Gravity Falls, Adventure Time, My Little Pony, the DC animated feature Batman vs. Robin and LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation. He also provided the voice of the title character in Disney Channel's animated series Milo Murphy's Law, both seasons of which are currently streaming on Disney+.

In the publishing world, Yankovic added "New York Times bestselling author" to his resumé in 2011 with the release of his children's book, When I Grow Up, followed two years later by My New Teacher and Me! (both published by HarperCollins). In 2015 Al became MAD's cover boy and the magazine's first and only guest editor in their 63-year history. The graphic novel The Illustrated Al: The Songs of "Weird Al" Yankovic featuring visualizations of Yankovic's classic songs by many of the world's top illustrators, will be published in January 2023 by Z2 Comics.

On August 27, 2018 the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce awarded "Weird Al" Yankovic with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

November 4, 2022 saw the release of the feature film WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story, a biopic that "holds nothing back, exploring every facet of Yankovic's life, from his meteoric rise to fame to his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle." The movie stars Daniel Radcliffe in the titular role and is directed by Eric Appel, with whom Yankovic co-wrote the script. Yankovic is Producer of the film alongside Funny Or Die and Tango Entertainment for Roku Originals. WEIRD received the Midnight Madness People's Choice Award at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival and a nod as one of People Magazine's Top 10 Films of the Year. The film received two Critic's Choice Awards, for Best Movie Made for Television and Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made For Television (Daniel Radcliffe), the American Cinema Editors (ACE Eddie) Award for Best Edited Feature Film (Non-Theatrical), the International Press Academy Satellite Award for Best Motion Picture Made for Television and eight Emmy Awards nominations. Al was the recipient as Producer, alongside the full producers team for the Producers Guild Of America (PGA) Award for Best Televised or Streamed Motion Picture, and as writer/performer on the original song "Now You Know" for the Hollywood Music In Media (HMMA) Award for Best Song In A Streamed Film.

The Official Soundtrack for the film including a special Collector's Vinyl Edition was released by Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment.