A Group Picture That Just Had to Be Weird – The New York Times

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Before Weird Al Yankovic parodies a song, he asks the artist for permission. He wants the subjects to be in on the joke, not exploited by it Michael Jackson loved the takeoff Eat It. So when the staff of The Times Magazine envisioned a photograph full of Weird Al fans dressed like the singer, it likewise sought approval from Mr. Yankovic.

He agreed, and the result was a group shot that was just as much of a sendup as any Weird Al song: the singer and 232 of his biggest fans (and one dog) in Los Angeles in January, well before the world got a whole lot weirder.

The idea emerged months earlier while the writer Sam Anderson was working on his profile, which examined the unexpected longevity of Mr. Yankovics career and its impact on fans. Through various genres of music, the artists changed, but Weird Al stayed the same. He has parodied artists including Madonna and Iggy Azalea. He never went away, Mr. Anderson said of the singers body of work.

On Halloween, Mr. Yankovic posted an Instagram slide show of people dressed like classic 80s Weird Al curly hair, mustache, Hawaiian shirt, oversize aviator glasses. When Amy Kellner, a senior photo editor for the magazine, saw the slide show, she knew immediately what she wanted to try. I thought, Oh my God, what if we got a giant group of people, all dressed like Weird Al, and then we could do the Wide World of Weird Al?

When Ms. Kellner brought the idea to Kathy Ryan, the magazines director of photography, and Gail Bichler, the magazines design director, the response was positive. I loved the idea, but the reality of it was daunting, Ms. Bichler said.

In early January, the magazine issued a call for participants through Mr. Yankovics Twitter, Facebook and newsletter. The photo staff didnt reach out until two weeks before the shoot because editors wanted to avoid being overwhelmed with interested fans looking to come from all over the world. Given enough time, they surely would have, Ms. Kellner said. In 2018, when Mr. Yankovic received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, 1,500 people showed up.

The short notice did not prevent Weird Als from Arizona, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas and even Canada from flying to Los Angeles.

The staff held extensive discussions about how many should be in the photo, and who should be included. We wanted to make sure we got a diverse group of people, and I needed to have a dog dressed up as Al for my own personal satisfaction, Ms. Kellner said. The staff also realized it couldnt afford to buy costumes for everyone, so fans would have to provide them, narrowing the pool.

As the magazine sifted through responses to the callout, the photographer Art Streiber, who is based in Los Angeles, researched photos of large groups of people and sent Ms. Kellner and Ms. Ryan examples of what 100 people looked like, then 200, then 250, 350, etc.

We made a cover mock-up, and it seemed like 250 was about the right number, Ms. Kellner said. In the end we got 232 human Als, and one dog Al.

The photo staff instructed the participants who were selected to bring four items: a curly wig, aviator glasses, a mustache and a Hawaiian shirt. If you can put on four things and people know who you are, thats an icon, Ms. Kellner said. Weird Al himself went clean shaven a few years ago.

On Jan. 18, the Weird Als, ranging from 6 months to 70 years old, gathered for the shoot though the baby Al had to wear a pacifier in addition to the costume, since the accordion music playing in the background was upsetting her. (The form that fans had completed beforehand playfully requested that they check a box if they were going to bring a real accordion, a toy accordion or no accordion.)

While everyone was waiting for the shoot to begin, there were singalongs to Weird Al songs, and of course everyone knew all the words. It was a gorgeous, sunny day and the vibe was happy and fun, Ms. Kellner said. I think everyone had a great time. Al came out to say hi to everyone and got a super enthusiastic standing ovation. I brought my own cassette of Weird Al in 3-D that Ive kept since 1984, and he so kindly signed it for me. I was beaming.

During the shoot, individual portraits of Weird Als were taken along with the group shot. After everything was completed by late afternoon, Mr. Yankovic, true to form, stayed to sign autographs.

The photograph was planned as a cover. But as the coronavirus outbreak intensified, the editors changed course. That didnt seem right anymore the crowds of people during social distancing, Ms. Bichler said.

The final cover of Sundays magazine features a story on emergency medical workers fighting the coronavirus in Italy. But the group shot from January is now part of the opening spread of the article on Mr. Yankovic.

Im disappointed that its not the cover, but Im hopeful that it will bring joy to the nerds of the world, Ms. Kellner said.

Its what Weird Al would want.

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A Group Picture That Just Had to Be Weird - The New York Times