# Weird Al's parents found dead **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 10, 2004, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-als-parents-found-dead/239343 "2004-04-10T17:44:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-als-parents-found-dead/239343/1 "2004-04-10T17:44:01Z")
[News story](http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/04/10/news/top_stories/19_55_164_9_04.txt?id=19_55_164_9_04) They think it was carbon dioxide poisoning. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-als-parents-found-dead/239343/2 "2004-04-10T17:45:15Z")
Sorry, carbon **mon** oxide. ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-als-parents-found-dead/239343/3 "2004-04-10T19:04:43Z")
Funny, an ex-boyfriend’s grandfather knew Weird Al’s dad. (It was the only thing the old man could think of to talk about with someone of our generation.) Anyway, that’s too bad. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-als-parents-found-dead/239343/4 "2004-04-10T20:45:34Z")
What a horrible thing for Al. For some reason I thought Al was a son of [Frankie Yankovic](http://www.polkas.com/yankovic/yankbio.htm) (_America’s Polka King_). I suppose I just thought this because there can’t be that many people named Yankovic in this country who play the accordion professionally. Does anybody know if there is a relationship there? ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-als-parents-found-dead/239343/5 "2004-04-10T20:55:59Z")
This is terrible! Weird Al is a national treasure. Where can we send condolences? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-als-parents-found-dead/239343/6 "2004-04-10T21:08:11Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > What a horrible thing for Al. Well, yes, and no . . . I feel terrible for him that his parents died, that he unexpectedly lost them both at once. But as so many of us here on the Board are going through their parents’ horrible drawn-out illnesses and deaths, I can’t help thinking that your octogenarian parents dying peacefully in their sleep, together, at home, is _not_ the worst way to go. ---
**Author:** ![biqu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@biqu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/biqu)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-als-parents-found-dead/239343/7 "2004-04-10T21:10:23Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > What a horrible thing for Al. > > For some reason I thought Al was a son of [Frankie Yankovic](http://www.polkas.com/yankovic/yankbio.htm) (_America’s Polka King_). I suppose I just thought this because there can’t be that many people named Yankovic in this country who play the accordion professionally. Does anybody know if there is a relationship there? No relationship, according to the [Weird Al website](http://www.weirdal.com/faq.htm). > [@](#): > > Is Al related to the famous accordion-playing Polka King, Frankie Yankovic? > > No, although they were friends for many years. (In October 1998, Frankie passed away at his home in Florida at the age of 83.) ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-als-parents-found-dead/239343/8 "2004-04-10T21:15:50Z")
Thanks, **dangermom** , for giving me the opportunity to remind my listeners to check their space heaters and heating systems in general. (I’m doing my Saturday radio show right now.) The town where my uni is is made up of older buildings, so there is a danger there. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-als-parents-found-dead/239343/9 "2004-04-10T22:05:43Z")
☹ I am a huge fan of Al and this is truely sad news. In interviews I’ve seen with them, they seemed like such nice people, and they raised a good son they can be proud of. I agree that we can at least be relieved that it was a painless death and that the fire didn’t cause a worse disaster. Best wishes to Al. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-als-parents-found-dead/239343/10 "2004-04-10T22:27:44Z")
Al was supposed to appear here in Topeka next Wednesday. I was looking forward to seeing him. He’ll probably have to delay that, but that’s perfectly understandable. My condolences to Al and the rest of his family. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-als-parents-found-dead/239343/11 "2004-04-10T23:06:32Z")
That’s terrible. On Thursday, Wierd Al had two healthy parents, and today he has none ☹ I saw an interview with them (IIRC in a VH1 “Behind the Music” story or something like that) and, yes, they seemed like nice people. I didn’t know that Wierd Al was married, or had a baby daughter. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-als-parents-found-dead/239343/12 "2004-04-10T23:07:01Z")
☹ ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-als-parents-found-dead/239343/13 "2004-04-11T01:03:29Z")
I too, would like to send my condolonces to the Yankovic family. ☹ Wonder if there is a link set up somewhere for this purpose? _goes off to search_ ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-als-parents-found-dead/239343/14 "2004-04-11T01:10:52Z")
How sad for Al. When I first read this, I thought it was Al that had died. He is one of those entertainers that seems to be one that everyone likes. I feel so bad for him. At least his parents went peacefully. [Grumpy Old Men} Lucky Bastard [/GOM] ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-als-parents-found-dead/239343/15 "2004-04-11T01:13:59Z")
There is indeed, a place to put your condolonces. [Yank Blog](http://yankovic.org/blog/index.php?p=136) From [this site.](http://www.yankovic.org/) ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-als-parents-found-dead/239343/16 "2004-04-11T04:34:29Z")
That’s just awful. Oh my. Back in about 1996 I took my brother to see Al do a concert (well, he did two in one day) at Six Flags Magic Moutain. His mom introduced him as “my son Alfred.” She was cheered quite enthusiastically by the crowd – hey, it’s his mom! Go Mom! I bet nobody else gets away with calling him that except maybe his dad. _g_ ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-als-parents-found-dead/239343/17 "2004-04-11T04:35:44Z")
Um…unfortunate wording there, but I bet nobody but his parents has called him Alfred in years. That’s what I meant. Oops. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-als-parents-found-dead/239343/18 "2004-04-11T07:42:40Z")
Considering his parents have appeared in several of Al’s videos and specials, that just makes the entire incident even more depressing. ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-als-parents-found-dead/239343/19 "2004-04-11T11:51:41Z")
I was very surprised that Al didn’t cancel his concert last night. It doesn’t look like the tour will be delayed or any of that, unless the funeral conflicts with it. They mentioned in a lot of the articles how excited Nick was to finally have a grandchild. I’m glad they lived to see Nina, for a year at least. Nick and Mary were great people, and they will be missed. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-als-parents-found-dead/239343/20 "2004-04-11T16:49:35Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > There is indeed, a place to put your condolonces. [Yank Blog](http://yankovic.org/blog/index.php?p=136) From [this site.](http://www.yankovic.org/) Thank you for posting the link. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-als-parents-found-dead/239343.md?page=2)