Almost by law, every Weird Al web site features a list of "Frequently Asked Questions," but we here at All Things Yankovic think that only scratches the surface of Al knowledge. There are questions that, although not asked often, are equally as important as "When is Al's birthday?"

To rectify this biased ignoring of such questions, All Things Yankovic proudly presents....

"Weird Al" Yankovic
Rarely Asked Questions
(R.A.Q.)

Is Weird Al a man or a woman?
Although we cannot get any confirmation from Al or his management, it is strongly believed that he is male.

Is Weird Al a cannibal?
(spit take)

Is Al ever going to make the movie Stir Crazy 2?
Since Al had very little if not absolutely nothing to do with the original film, the likelihood of his being involved in a sequel is nil.

Yo, check it out. You got any Wierd All songs you can send me?
Sure, holmes. Got a benjamin on ya? If so, then you can go out to a store and buy approximately eight "Wierd All" CD's yourself, you lazy cheapskate.

Why didn't Al put "You're Pitiful" on any album?
Because you didn't buy enough copies of Polka Party!

Hey, isn't Weird Al also known as "The 'Eat It' Guy?"
On the contrary, "Eat It" is known as "The Weird Al Song!"

Which album has the song "What If God Smoked Cannabis?"
Um....that's only on Permanent Record: Al In The Box, which is out of print but can still be purchased on eBay or from individual sellers on Amazon. Now, it will be listed on the packaging as "Eat It," and it may even sound like a Michael Jackson song, but trust us, that's the song you're looking for.

What's this rumor I keep hearing that Weird Al also sings songs that aren't parodies?
There is absolutely no truth behind it. Every song Al has recorded since 1973 has been a parody. For example, Al's seemingly original Running With Scissors closer "Albuquerque" is in actuality a parody of the Hogg Whitman song "Pass The Turkey."

I heard that Weird Al is on the commentary track on the Orgazmo DVD. Was Al in the movie or something?
Was he?? Oh, surely you remember that one Orgazmo stunt-"double"....

In the same vein, why did Al appear on the Ren and Stimpy: Adult Party Cartoon DVD?
Because Al doesn't always want to be associated with just things that are funny.

I have a copy of Alapalooza with two stickers on the cover. One sticker says something about the album not being the Jurassic Park soundtrack. Is this a variation of some kind?
Actually, no. The real variation has one large blank sticker placed over the entire cover of the album.

How many Academy Awards has Al won?
Um....none. However, these are the Oscars Al has been elligible for:

Best Original Song, 1984 ("This Is The Life" from Johnny Dangerously)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role, 1988 (The Naked Gun or Tapeheads)
Best Original Song, 1989 ("UHF" from UHF)*
Best Score, 1989 (for "Fun Zone" in UHF, with John DuPrez)
Best Actor in a Lead Role, 1989 (UHF)
Best Original Screenplay, 1989 (UHF, with Jay Levey)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role, 1991 (The Naked Gun 2 1/2)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role, 1994 (Naked Gun 33 1/3)
Best Original Song, 1996 ("Spy Hard" from--oddly enough--Spy Hard)
Best Original Song, 2000 ("Polkamon" from Pokemon the Movie 2000)

*Now before you say "What about 'Money For Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies,' you punk??", keep in mind that the category is Best Original Song.

How come my Bad Hair Day CD disc has the Alapalooza image on it?
Wow....you may have the special secret limited edition version of the album. Volcano made a small run of these, and a very few are actually made out of solid platinum. To be sure if you have one of those, rub a magnet all around the back of the disc. The platinum discs will immediately cling to the magnet.

What's the difference between The Food Album and Running With Scissors?
About seven bucks, depending on which store you're at. (rimshot!) Ha!

I noticed that Al sure is targeting a lot of black artists on Straight Outta Lynwood. What does that mean?
Why, it clearly means he's going to Hell.

Does Al really have a hyper glandular problem like in the Fatman cartoons?
Of course! How else do you think Al puts on all that weight before singing "Fat" at concerts?? Although, how Al loses the weight in time to sing "The Saga Begins" is another question....

Where is Al's cameo in The Importance of Being Earnest?
Al does not appear in that movie. You may be thinking of the unproduced Jim Varney vehicle The Importance of Being Ernest.

I just bought a copy of the UHF CD at a store. I have heard that it is rare, yet the store had several copies. What do I do next?
OH MY GOD!!! You found a copy of the UHF soundtrack?? That has been out of print since 1984! Wow! Okay, you have to buy all of the copies and sell them up on eBay for three times the amount your paid. Never mind The Authorized Al...you found the rarest Al item ever! Whaaaaa--!! (jumping out the window)

Wikipedia is saying that (blank) song was/wasn't released as a single. How come this site doesn't list that as well?
Because we're more interested in facts than in appeasing whining people in a discussion thread.

Speaking of which, there's something on Wikipedia that looks a lot like something on this site...?
Yes, a number of facts and images have been stolen from this site and added to Wikipedia without our permission or due credit. Wikipedia doesn't care, but we do.

Where are the Easter eggs on the UHF DVD?
Easter eggs? What the heck are you talkin' about?? It's a movie! Unless it's an Easter movie, then you won't find any Easter eggs! Geez....stupid kid.

As of May 2007, there are only three songs left on Straight Outta Lynwood that do not have music videos. Are they going to get videos anytime soon?
Of course, with each one utilizing a unique animation style. The video for "Canadian Idiot" will be produced with Gilliam-esque cut-out animation, while "Confessions Part III" will use rotoscoping, and "Polkarama!" will use sand animation. But that's not all, as Al also plans to go back and produce additional animated videos for every other remaining video-less song in his released catalog. The first eighty-one videos will be released over the next year. No DVD release is planned.

Hey, I put Running With Scissors into my computer. Is that movie file supposed to be there?
Yep, but if you want to see something really cool, trying putting the CD into the toaster!

So, is Weird Al still alive? I heard on the radio that he died. What's the truth?
(an actual letter)
Actually, there has been more than one "Weird Al," you know. The character of Weird Al has become kind of like Bozo the Clown, where as performers rotate portraying him.

Below is top secret information on the various performers who have taken the role of Weird Al. This info comes direct from J. Ward, an informed source on the subject.....

Alfred Matthews, 1983-1985 - The original "Weird Al," who of course coined the nickname in college. Although he went by the last name of Yankovic in honor of his parents' love of Frankie, he has yet to legally change it from Matthews. Alfred retired after the release and runaway success of In 3-D and "Eat It." It was because of his last name that the "Weird Al" character was given the middle name "Matthew" in later years. It is believed that Alfred is living comfortably in Pasadena.

Albert Janckavich, 1985-1988, 1990-1991 - Discovered by Jay Levey while going through the California phone book. Apparently Jay saw enough of a connection in the name to believe in divine intervention. Albert was all too willing to style his hair in the similar fashion after he was told what his salary would be. A recording engineer in his own right, he also produced the Babalu Music! compilation.

Michael Janckavich, 1989 - The long-haired brother of Albert Janckavich. Because of his almost identical looks, he was chosen to star in UHF after his brother felt he wasn't much of a film actor, thus temporarily handing the job over to Michael. However, Albert was clearly the more musically-inclined brother, so he took the reigns again when recording for Off The Deep End commenced in 1990.

Curtis DeWebb, 1992-1997 - The fourth "Weird Al," and the one most familiar with fans from the '90s. He made his visual debut on the Off The Deep End cover, however Albert was the one heard in the songs. When Curtis finally got to premiere his singing talents on The Deep End Tour, he had a stipulation in his contract allowing him to bring his half-brother Ruben Valtierra on the tour to play keyboards. Curtis had a creative spark not seen since the days of Alfred Matthews, as Curtis came up with the idea to make a Jurassic Park album cover for Alapalooza. Since Curtis had followed the tradition of not legally changing his name to "'Weird Al' Yankovic," the 1996 court papers of the Coolio vs. Weird Al case were signed under his own name. A condition of the agreement prevented Coolio from revealing Curtis's true identity to the press. After production wrapped on the short-lived The Weird Al Show, the experience completely wiped Curtis out. Curtis's last television appearance as Weird Al was on the 1998 American Music Awards, in which he showed up as how he really looks and not "as Weird Al." Although Jay Levey had quickly found a replacement, he paid Curtis heavily to make one final public appearance as Weird Al...at ALCON '98 in June of 1998.

Marty Cohen, 1998-2005 - Marty differs from the rest of the "Weird Als" in that he didn't want to have the same "Al look." Marty already had 20/10 vision and wasn't too keen on facial hair, so he agreed to take on the Weird Al role only if he was not forced to wear the glasses or mustache. Jay Levey agreed to the condition only because Marty is a gifted voice mimic, and his voice practically matched Curtis DeWebb's. Marty's official debut was on the Running with Scissors album. Marty broke a lot of fans' hearts in early 2001 when Weird Al finally married. The truth is, Marty was already married to his wife Susan, and he didn't want to lead his females fans on anymore. Marty further used the "wedding" as an excuse to take a year off his Weird Al duties.

Edward LaFong, sporadically since 2002, full time 2005-present - Edward's strange journey as the new "Weird Al" began when VH1 approached Jay Levey with having Weird Al appear on their first I Love the '80s series to offer on-the-spot "wacky" quips on a variety of subjects. The problem was that Marty Cohen was not an improvisational performer by any means, and was actually quite camera-shy because of that. So Jay approached laid-back Edward, an up-and-coming member of Los Angeles's famed Groundlings acting troupe. Jay was able to explain the goateed Edward's more hippie-like look as Weird Al merely trying to look more "casual." VH1, unaware of the switch, loved Edward's performance so much that they wanted Weird Al back to do other similar shows of theirs, as did such other networks as E! and TV Land. This marked the first time in well over a decade that two different performers were handling the role of Weird Al. Things changed, though, during The Poodle Hat Tour, when Marty's constant demands for frequent periods of vacation became a growing source of irritation for Jay. When the tour ended in 2004, Edward was quietly being groomed to take over all aspects of the Weird Al mantle. The switch was made official in mid-2005 after Marty delayed the start of the recording of the twelfth Weird Al album, Straight Outta Lynwood. Edward insisted on keeping his facial hair for the album's photography, primarily as a transition before going back to the older, "classic" Weird Al look for good to appeal more to the "'80s retro" crowd.

It is believed that there is a 1999 picture somewhere on the web that has all of the Weird Al performers up to that time posing together, but the URL is unknown just yet.

Anyway, it might very well be true then that one of the "Weird Al" guys have died...although we here at All Things Yankovic haven't heard anything.