Parody star's parents die in Fallbrook

The NC Times ^ | Saturday, April 10, 2004 | JO MORELAND - Staff Writer

[Gorons]

Last modified Friday, April 9, 2004 10:33 PM PDT

Parody star's parents die in Fallbrook

By: JO MORELAND - Staff Writer

FALLBROOK ---- The elderly parents of parody recording star "Weird Al" Yankovic were found dead of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning Friday in their modest Fallbrook home.

An investigator from the county medical examiner's office identified the couple as Nick and Mary Yankovic and said they lived in the house at 226 Foxfire Lane.

A blaze had been in a fireplace in the hillside house when three family members discovered the couple about 1 p.m., said sheriff's Sgt. Conrad Grayson, a fire investigator.

"The house was full of smoke when they opened the door," Grayson said. "We examined the fireplace. They were burning wood. They (family) had found the flue closed. They opened it."

Shocked neighbors on the rural one-block street on a green hillside described the Yankovics as "sweethearts," nice people who were proud of their son.

"Everybody who came to the neighborhood knew Nick," said John Buehman, who lives across the street. "They're going to be missed, big time."

Attempts to reach "Weird Al" Yankovic through his New York-based booking agency, BookingEntertainment.com, Friday were unsuccessful. The winner of the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album in 2003 for his "Poodle Hat" album was scheduled to appear in Appleton, Wis., on Friday as part of the tour for the album.

The Yankovics' relatives went to the house in this rural North County hamlet because they hadn't seen the couple for a while and they were concerned, Grayson said. Neighbors said Mary Yankovic's sisters live nearby.

When the relatives discovered the bodies, Grayson said, they called the authorities.

San Diego County sheriff's patrol Deputies Joe Hammer and Richard Berry and the North County Fire Protection District responded at 1:05 p.m. to a report of smoke inside the residence and two dead adults in the home.

Paramedics found 86-year-old Nick Yankovic in a chair in the front living room and his 81-year-old wife lying on the bathroom floor, authorities said.

Sheriff's fire investigators were called to investigate the incident and determine exactly what caused the smoke, Grayson said.

Joe Fedorchak, a neighbor and owner of Fallbrook's popular El Jardin Restaurant, said the couple were "very sweet people."

"They were not particularly active in the community in recent years," Fedorchak said. "Nick just loved being outdoors enjoying nature and his little fruit garden."

Mary Yankovic liked to garden and work with plants, but had not been able to do much in the last few months, he said. Buehman said she has not been well recently.

"They were just really enjoying their retirement and having a quiet life," Fedorchak said.

The Yankovics had lived at the little house for more than a dozen years.

The two-bedroom, one-bathroom home was built in 1978 and its registered owner is a T.R. Yankovic, according to property records. It was previously listed in the name of Nick and Mary Yankovic.

"He would always tell me when and where his son was performing," Buehman said about Nick Yankovic. "Very proud of his son. He was always joking around. That's probably where Alfred got his sense of humor."

Known to his parents as Alfred Matthew Yankovic, the man the world knows as "Weird Al" Yankovic was born in 1959 in Lynwood, a suburb of Los Angeles. Buehman said the family lived there after Army veteran Nick Yankovic became a civilian.

"I know he was very proud of his duty in World War II," Buehman said. "Their son was a caring son, too. He would have a limousine come pick them up for film shoots."

He said Nick Yankovic was "so tickled" when his son married in 2001 "and he was going to have grandchildren." Granddaughter Nina Yankovic was born in February 2003.

"Nick said he'd waited a long time (for grandchildren)," said Buehman. "Nick was someone that everybody in the neighborhood knew and liked. When you met him, you just fell in love with him.

"He'd say, 'What a beautiful day. It's so nice to be alive.' I'd say, 'Nick, you're going to live a long time.' "

Staff writers Mark Walker and Anne Riley-Katz contributed to this story.

Contact staff writer Jo Moreland at (760) 740-3524 or jmoreland@nctimes.com.

[Gorons]

The Character

Dad is the father of Al. He never really appeared in any of the episodes. He was seen a couple of times in the home videos that Al played whenever Mrs. Fesenmeyer visited.

The Actor

Nick Yankovic is the father of "Weird Al" in real life, as well. He has been in many of Al's video projects, in addition to "The Weird Al Show." Nick has appeared in The Compleat Al and the Disney special (There's No) Going Home.

• Filmography

  Episode Appearances

• Episode #3601: He Ain't Heavy, He's My Hamster

• Episode #3613: The Obligatory Holiday Episode

  ---

[Drammach]

Condolences to Weird Al and the Yankovic family..

You know, regardless of the "Weird Al" nickname, and the music satire genre, he has turned out to be far more "normal" than many entertainers or hollywood types..

Consider the behaviour of some "mainstream" singer-actor types..

[LIBERATENJ]

Prayers to Al and family. That sucks. I agree he is more normal than most entertainers. Just writes funny song parodys.

[CrazyIvan]

My sister, a flight attendant, dealt with a lot of celebrities. Most were jerks. She had Weird Al on a flight once and said he was just a friendly "guy next door type".

[11th Earl of Mar]

Never liked Weird Al, but condolenses to him and the family.

[codercpc]

My prayers to Weird Al.

Ironically, we were going to go to the Appleton,WI show, but due to some remodeling we are doing we didn't think we could get away.

[snopercod]

Wierd Al is one of my favorite performers. My condolences.

One more note to everybody: Check your smoke detectors and/or CO detectors folks. If you don't have them in your home, you should.

[Moonmad27]

What a shock this news has been. Nick and Mary were real "salt of the earth" people, and that's sure been past onto their son who is a regular guy despite his fame. I had seen his parents numerous times over the past ten years. They were extremely proud of their son, and they got a kick out of going onstage at big Al concerts and opening the show by introducing "our son Alfred" to huge audiences. Nick proudly displayed numerous WWII medals, and his memories of the war were just as vivid as if they'd happened yesterday. Mary was the most generous of hostesses, and I never left their house without Mary handing me a big bagful of fruit from their citrus trees. The last time I visited that house, Nick made me promise that after he was gone, I would still visit to check on Mary. It's so sad to remember that, but I know that they are in a better place now, together. I am so sorry that this has happened, and my thoughts are with Al and his family.

[Drammach]

My condolences to you, also..

It seems you lost a pair of good freinds...

[bondjamesbond]

If any FReepers needed another reminder to invest the twenty bucks in a CO detector, here's another reason.

[Howlin]

We just cannot say it enough, IMO.

Please, please, PLEASE buy a carbon monoxide detector and USE it. And tell everybody you know!

Thanks, bondjamesbond and snopercod, for reminding everybody.

So very sad and so very unnecessary.

[Zack Nguyen]

Weird Al is a fantastic artist in my opinion. God bless he and his family.

[Clintons Are White Trash]

"Please, please, PLEASE buy a carbon monoxide detector and USE it. And tell everybody you know!"

And if I might add - Have your furnace cleaned and checked every fall!!!

What a shame - it sounds like a wonderful loving family. My sympathy goes out to Al.

[Sloth]

That's a shame. Al is one of the most decent guys in the entertainment industry. That says a lot about his parents.

[Sloth]

Al & his parents, in an unused scene from a concert video where they give him a pep talk.

[DollyCali]

Thanks for post/thread Gorons.. Al is surely an interesting entertainer.. I sent this to my nephew (HI JASON G??) who is a big fan.

So sad to hear of deaths like this which prolly should have been prevented

[E. Pluribus Unum]

At least the old couple left together.

I suspect it would have been pretty hard on the one left behind had it happened otherwise.

RIP good people.

[Chad Fairbanks]

Tragic Ping!

[AdmSmith]

My condolences to Weird Al and the Yankovic family.

here is his site http://www.weirdal.com/