"Weird Al" Yankovic is a comedy music legend. The man has been entertaining audiences for four decades. While he is mostly known for his parodies of popular songs, Yankovic has ventured into other territory as well. He has written plenty of original comedy songs and even had a Saturday morning children's show.
However, Yankovic's most memorable acting experience came in 1989 when he starred in the film UHF. Yankovic played George Newman, a man who takes over a local UHF station. The film is filled with random cutaway skits and gags, including one where the filming conditions were described by Yankovic himself as "ripe."
The Wheel Of Fish Scene Led To A Very 'Ripe' Atmosphere On Set, According To Al
UHF featured a ton of random skits and cutaway gags. Many of these were bizarre commercials and television shows that aired on the station. One of the cutaway skits in the film was the Spatula City commercial.
"I think I got the idea for Spatula City one time while we were driving through a section of New Jersey," Yankovic said. "Looking out the window, I was seeing Boot World and Linoleum City and all these bizarre specialty shops."
He continued, "I don't think I ever saw an actual Spatula City, but it would not have felt out of place along this particular stretch of road in New Jersey. So I think that was probably the impetus for the idea."
Another skit was the game show Wheel of Fish, where contestants would spin a wheel and see which fish was chosen.
Filming for this particular scene began at 4:30 p.m. However, real fish were purchased at a local fish marker earlier that morning. The set designer began attaching the fish to the wheel at 6:00 a.m. and made sure the wheel spun smoothly. This all took place on a hot summer day in a building that wasn't air-conditioned.
Yankovic mentioned this particular scene when asked about memorable skits from the film.
"Oh, there were so many," Yankovic began. "One is the Wheel of Fish day, because that was the worst-smelling set I’ve ever been on. Those were not fake fish — those were real fish that were purchased at the Tulsa, Oklahoma, fish market that morning and they were literally nailed to a wooden wheel in a hot studio for an entire day."
During the DVD commentary for the film, Yankovic described the conditions on set as "ripe."
Ellen DeGeneres Originally Auditioned For The Role Of Weird Al's Girlfriend In 'UHF'
In 1984, Ellen DeGeneres made a name for herself as a stand-up comic when she was named Showtime's Funniest Person In America. The honor caused DeGeneres' name to become more well-known on the stand-up circuit.
DeGeneres also auditioned to play the role of George's girlfriend Teri in UHF. During an interview with Yahoo Entertainment, Yankovic revealed he still has DeGeneres' audition tape.
"Ellen came in and read once or twice, and she was really good," Yankovic said. "She was very funny, but obviously didn't quite make the cut. I still have her audition on a VHS tape somewhere. In fact, Ellen DeGeneres, at one point, asked if she could see the audition, to see if she wanted to air it on her show. And I sent it to her, and she was like, 'Yeah, no. Nobody should see this.' She didn't think it was good."
'UHF' Wasn't A Critical Or Commercial Success, But It Later Became A Cult Classic
Despite having a large fan base, Yankovic wouldn't enjoy the same success in the film world as he did in the music world. UHF didn't do well at the box office when it was released and it was out of theaters in a matter of weeks.
Yankovic has attributed this to the fact that UHF was released at the same time as a bunch of huge blockbuster movies. These included Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Batman, Do the Right Thing and Lethal Weapon 2.
"After it came out and didn't do spectacularly at the box office, every single night before I went to sleep I spent an hour and a half thinking, 'What should I have done differently?'" Yankovic told Yahoo. "And that's calmed down in the last 30 years."
The critical reception wasn't so kind, either and Yankovic said one comment was particularly stinging.
"Critics pretty much universally hated it. In retrospect, you see critics talking about it now with a fond memory, but at the time, Siskel and Ebert just thought I was Satan. There were personal attacks, not just on the movie, but even about the way I looked! Newsweek said something like my face looked like a 'baby's buttocks to which wire-rimmed glasses and a caterpillar had been attached,'" Yankovic reflected. "Really uncalled-for!"
However, as time went on, the film developed a cult following and is now considered a cult classic.
"It was a very gradual thing," Yankovic remembered. "Fans discovered it eventually first on cable TV, I think, and then through VHS rentals. And I think everybody started realizing that this was a thing when the DVD was released 13 years after the theatrical release, and it was a top 10 bestselling DVD. Nobody expected that. That was very gratifying, and to this day I meet fans that have seen the movie almost as many times as I have. It’s definitely got its hardcore fans."
