‘Weird Al’ Yankovic receives star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame
.jpg "Musician/comedian “Weird Al” Yankovic, known for song parodies including “Eat It” and “Like A Surgeon,” poses atop his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame following a ceremony in his honor on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)")
“Weird Al” Yankovic received his star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame on Monday, nearly 40 years after he recorded “My Bologna” in a Cal Poly restroom.
The 1980 Cal Poly graduate, known for his pop music parodies, spoke at the ceremony along with radio host Barry Hansen, better known as Dr. Demento, and actor Thomas Lennon. The free ceremony was held across the street from Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.
“I’m completely overwhelmed by the love and support of the fans. It means so much to me,” Yankovic said. “Having my name in a star on a sidewalk — that’s cool, that’s really nice, who wouldn’t want that? — but just knowing that I have the love and support of the fans, people that would go through all this time and effort and money to do something completely crazy like this, that means everything in the world to me.”
Yankovic had only one request: “Please don’t pickaxe my star.”
“Unless at some point in the future I do something unfathomably monstrous and evil in which case: Sure, fine, OK, go ahead,” he said. “But anything short of that, please limit yourself to spitting and urinating. Have some class, people!”
And in true Weird Al fashion, Yankovic also told the crowd he’s selling a used credenza on Craigslist.
Fans of the actor showed their excitement over his star on social media.
“Hats Off & Respect for this man, Weird Al!” wrote one Twitter user. “Grew up laughing at these parodies!!”
“Just happened to walk out on Hollywood Boulevard as Weird Al is getting his star, and Dr. Demento is introducing him. Pretty heartwarming for my inner teen,” wrote another.
And one user, who called the star “extraordinarily well-deserved,” wondered why Weird Al hadn’t been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Yankovic, a former KCPR DJ, was inducted into Cal Poly’s Mustang Media Hall of Fame in 2016.
The 58-year-old is also a New York Times bestselling author and has received four Grammy Awards and 15 nominations. In 2015, he won a Grammy for best comedy album for his album “Mandatory Fun.”
He was announced as a 2018 honoree in June 2017. Other 2018 Walk of Fame recipients include Snoop Dogg, Shonda Rhimes, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Taraji P. Henson, RuPaul, Simon Cowell, Jennifer Lawrence, Zoe Saldana and Lynda Carter.
Tribune reporter Lucas Clark contributed to this story.
This story was originally published August 27, 2018 at 12:56 PM.