A little bit of heaven…94.7…tweedle dee!
Damn. I should have scrolled down before posting. 
I have her on a DeathPool list, trying not for points, but unique picks.
Some years ago, on a Friday, our paper announced that on the following Wednesday Al would be performing in my city. It was too late that day to get tickets at the performing venue, so I decided that first thing Monday I’d get there and buy a good seat, one of the expensive one. The next day, Saturday, there was the news story about the death of Al’s parents, so I assumed the show would be off.
Nope, he performed right up till just before the funeral, as he said he’d rather not just sit around and cry. I don’t know how he did it, I saw the show and he, at least in public, was perfect. Just before he came on, after the warmup act, a screen went up that said "Tonight’s performance is dedicated to the memory of Nick and Mary Yankovic. We all clapped and cheered.
Al is a real trooper.
I can’t believe he’s only three years older than me.
He would have been 24 when I first started listening, err laughing to him.
Al is about one year younger than me. I first saw him in San Diego in 1982, the third act on a six-act bill at the Spirit Club. The next time I saw him was last year in Chicago at the Vic Theater. His energy and creativity makes me feel young and empowered.
I had stopped listening to Dr. Demento well before Weird Al showed up. So he’s a kid by my standards.
Get off, get off
Get off my lawn 'cause you’re just too young.
A true talent
How is that supposed to make me feel old? I didn’t realize Weird Al was still just a kid! 
A friend of mine interviewed her just before she turned 100. Dame Vera is quite hard of hearing these days but still very nice. Lives down in the Brighton/Hove area. Apparently schoolkids still come to her door just to meet her.
HAH, now you’ve spilled the beans (off to the deathpool thread…;))
I have my very own Vera Lynn story I will tell some time on the SDMB
People who have never been performers have no idea just how deep that “The Show Must Go On” ethos runs. He knew that fans and entire families had planned this show for weeks or months.
He did cancel the “Meet and Greets”, but that would affect a lot fewer people than canceling an entire show.
He started with Dr. Demento in what, '76? I was 9 and not much into music, but I was into comedy and general weirdness. Naturally I was an avid Dr. Demento fan. I didn’t realize for quite a while that Al was doing parodies, I just thought his stuff was fun and quirky. To this day I can’t sing along properly to songs like Another One Bites The Dust, I Love Rock & Roll, and Stop Dragging My Heart Around. THOSE are the parody songs, in my head.
He had a homemade tape on in '76 but it wasn’t until the very end of '79 with My Bologna that he got real airtime with the Doctor. So coming up on 40 years of being a professional parodist.
There is a video of Katy Perry, I think from a concert movie, where she learns on the phone that her then-husband, Russell Brand, is leaving her - immediately before she is to go on stage. Her team asks her if she wants to call it off. She collects herself and marches towards the stage, still sobbing in despair. As she is hoisted aloft from underneath the stage, she forces a smile and goes on with the show. I’m not a Katy Perry fan in the slightest, but I was astounded.
When you’re in show business, that is the expectation, though. That’s what the pros do.
What to feel really, really old?
Mary Lou Retton is doing menopause commercials.
Here’s the scene from Katy Perry: Part of Me from 2012:
It might seem incomprehensible to non-performers, but this is how you have to deal with things. In her case, there were thousands of people in the audience and maybe a hundred people in her crew relying on her doing the show.
I’ve heard more than one live entertainer say that the audience gets most of the credit for a good or bad show based on the energy they give the performer. So there’s one Katy in a foul mood whose nature is to feed off what is given to her, and waiting for her on the other side of the stage is wave after wave of excitement and love. It’s got to be more powerful than any drug for the right person.
flips out
Want to feel old?
Why?