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Most celebrity musicians are tickled to get the “Weird Al” Yankovic experience, watching their most popular songs become goofy parodies such as “Eat It” or “Like A Surgeon.” But as “Weird Al” told Jimmy Fallon last night, not every artist is down to be clowned.

“Was there ever a white whale of parody songs?” Fallon wondered. An artist whom Yankovic wanted to spoof who never gave him the chance?

“Prince is like the one guy that was never into it,” the comedian revealed.

The weird thing, as it were, was that Prince was a fan of other “Weird Al” songs. “In fact, I heard a bootleg recording of him in the studio talking to some friends,” Yankovic said, remembering Prince laughing at “Fat,” his parody of Michael Jackson’s “Bad.” “He makes fun of Michael Jackson. It's really funny.”

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“I’ve seen that,” added Fallon about a video that has 87 million views on YouTube.

It was another Year of Covid in 2021, and the sadness extended to many beloved and groundbreaking people in the show business and media worlds who died during the past 12 months.

Scroll through a photo gallery above.

The acting world lost such giants as Betty White who died on New Year’s Eve eve, Ed Asner, Cicely Tyson, Charles Grodin, Jessica Walter, Christopher Plummer, Michael K. Williams, Hal Holbrook, George Segal, Yaphet Kotto, Jane Powell and Ned Beatty.

We also pay tribute to filmmakers including Melvin Van Peebles, Jean-Marc Vallée, Bertrand Travernier, Richard Donner, Michael Apted and Roger Michell.

The executive and producing worlds lost the likes of Jamie Tarses, Chuck Fries and public television’s Pete Noyes and Bill Kobin.

Musicians who left us this past year include Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, Don Everly, Vicente Fernandez, Dmx, Chick Corea, Biz Markie, B.J. Thomas, the Monkees’ Mike Nesmith, the Supremes’ Mary Wilson,...

Ron Popeil, the infomercial pioneer and inventor who served as the enthusiastic pitchman for products like Chop-o-Matic and the Showtime Rotisserie, has died at the age of 86.

Popeil’s rep confirmed his death to the Associated Press, noting that Popeil died “suddenly and peacefully” Wednesday at Los Angeles’ Cedars Sinai Medical Center. No cause of death was provided.

According to Popeil’s official website, he was instrumental in the invention of unique products like “the Chop-o-Matic, Mr. Microphone (the first Karaoke machine), the Popeil Pocket Fisherman, the Veg-o-Matic, the Buttoneer,...

Ron Popeil, the infomercial icon behind products like the Pocket Fisherman and Hair in a Can, died on Wednesday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to the Associated Press. He was 86.

Popeil gained recognition when he created the famous Showtime Rotisserie & BBQ, along with his trademarked catchphrase — “Set it and forget it!” Popeil’s creation of the product grossed more than $1 billion in domestic sales.

Born in New York City on May 3, 1935, Popeil started his long career working with his father at a manufacturing facility in Chicago, which produced kitchen appliances. At the age of 16, Pompeil started selling the same products his father’s factory produced in the flea market lining Maxwell St. in Chicago.

After discovering his passion for kitchen ingenuity, Popeil became a tireless salesman for Ronco inventions like the Chop-o-Matic in 1959 and the Veg-o-Matic in 1963, appearing on infomercials to enthusiastically tout the company’s products.

Ron Popeil, the Ronco founder who all but created the late-night infomercial and pitched such durable — in memory if not quality — items as the Pocket Fisherman, the Veg-o-Matic, the Bedazzler and Mr. Microphone, died today at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles following a medical emergency. He was 86.

His death was confirmed in a press release approved by his family. According to the statement, Popeil “suddenly and peacefully passed away” surrounded by family.

Beginning in 1959 with a low-budget, minute-long black-and-white commercial for the Ronco Chop-o-Matic, Popeil (with then-partner Mel Korey) devised the rapid-fire pitches — consisting of a string of amazing! unbelievable! claims — that would make household names (literally) of items such as Hair in a Can Spray, the Popeil Pocket Fisherman, the Kitchen Magician, Mr. Dentist, the Smokeless Ashtray, the Inside-the-Egg Scrambler, a rhinestone stud setter popularized as a Bedazzler, the Cap Snaffler and the Buttoneer.

Remembered as much for...

Inventor and TV pitchman Ron Popeil, who starred in countless infomercials over the past half-century, has died at the age of 86.

Popeil suffered a severe medical emergency on Tuesday, TMZ reports, and he passed away early Wednesday morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, surrounded by his family.

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Born in New York City, Popeil began his salesman career as a kid, hawking the kitchen gadgets his father had invented.

Ron Popeil, the prolific infomercial spokesman behind “as seen on TV” products like the Showtime Rotisserie and Hair in a Can, has died. He was 86.

Popeil died early Wednesday morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center following a “severe medical emergency” on Tuesday, Popeil’s family told TMZ.

Popeil was best known for the “Set it and forget it” catchphrase he used to sell the Showtime Rotisserie in late-night infomercials. The product shattered QVC records, selling over $1 billion worth of appliances, according to TMZ.

He is also often credited with popularizing the phrase, “But wait, there’s more!”

But Popeil was more than just a smiling face for hire, he pioneered the art of the infomercial and modern television advertising as a whole. In the 1950s, he and his partner, Mel Korey, produced the first minute long commercial for just $500, according to Popeil’s official website. The product? The Ronco Chop-o-Matic, a...

In the words of Ron Popeil — "But wait, there's more!" After a lengthy delay due to Covid-19, The Walking Dead's tenth season finale dropped last October, but when it was announced that the series would conclude with a super-sized eleventh season, it was also revealed that the team would be shooting six additional episodes that would be a part of the tenth season. AMC has dropped a new trailer for these additional episodes which features, among other things,…...

Though its primary function is creative, Jingle Punks is built on a foundation of technology and administration. The patented Jingle Player that lets customers search for music using pop culture terms is both intuitive and efficient. Typing in “Reservoir Dogs” or “Starbucks” generates suggestions. Queries are monitored “so if there isn’t an exact match, we’ll suggest something else or a music supervisor will be alerted to create something,” Jingle Punks co-founder and managing partner Dan Demole says. Most searched phrases for 2018? “Hip-hop,” “upbeat piano” and “epic summer,” followed by the ever-popular “quirky comedy” and “fun adventure.” Recent additions that came after stumping the system: Cirque du Soleil, “A Star Is Born,” opportunistic, royal visit and infotainment.

In addition to traditional licensing models for its library of more than 500,000 cues, Jingle Punks offers something called Jingle 360. Customers who commit to a certain quantity of original music get a white...

[[tmz:video id="0_ri45eo83"]] Muhammad Ali's legacy ... is in Flavor Flav's hands -- 'cause the rap legend tells TMZ Sports he's managing Muhammad's grandson's boxing career!  Flav was out in Bev Hills with TV pitchman Ron Popeil -- when he told us all about his 15-year-old prodigy Nico Ali Walsh ... a rising star in the sport (check out video below, he's in white trunks). "The boy is good," Flav tells us ... "That's all I gotta tell you,...

Let’s just say… I was disappointed.

I have a name for my disappointment and it’s America’s Got Powers #1, the first issue – hey, with the screwy numbering system American Comics use nowadays, one can’t be sure # 1 is actually the first issue – of the new mini-series from Image. Disappointing because it was such a cynical and negative portrayal of America. So let’s proceed that I might give voice to my disappointment.

In the not too distant future, to borrow a line from the Mystery Science Theater 3000 theme – because “borrow” sounds so much nicer than steal – something happened. Which, makes America’s Got Powers better than most mainstream comic books, where super heroes can take four pages just to get their mail – and you only think I’m making that up – so as to stretch out some skimpy story out for the six issues suitable for framing...

Artist and brand management company Vector Management is partnering with Eric Ortner of Ortner Media Group to create Vector Omg, an imprint that will serve as both a management company and production incubator. Ortner’s clients, including journalist & Starfish Media Group CEO Soledad O’Brien, NBC News’ Ann Curry, and inventor/marketing pioneer Ron Popeil, will move to Vector Omg with Ortner. The announcement was made today by Vector co-presidents Ken Levitan and Jack Rovner. “With this new venture, we plan to take the best practices of traditional campaigns in the general entertainment marketplace while creating new revenue opportunities for journalists and […]...

Artist and brand management company Vector Management is partnering with Eric Ortner of Ortner Media Group to create Vector Omg, an imprint that will serve as both a management company and production incubator. Ortner’s clients, including journalist & Starfish Media Group CEO Soledad O’Brien, NBC News’ Ann Curry, and inventor/marketing pioneer Ron Popeil, will move to Vector Omg with Ortner. The announcement was made today by Vector co-presidents Ken Levitan and Jack Rovner. “With this new venture, we plan to take the best practices of traditional campaigns in the general entertainment marketplace while creating new revenue opportunities for journalists and other public figures,” says Rovner. As a manager and advisor, Ortner represents on-air talent, content producers, comedians, journalists, major multinational brands, investor groups, newsmakers, and leaders of global influence. He previously worked as a producer in broadcast news. He was a senior producer for ABC News’ Good Morning America and Gma Weekend.

Is anyone not guest-starring on Community this season? Already Vince Gilligan, Jonathan Banks, Walton Goggins, Mitch Hurwitz, David Cross, and Nathan Fillion have been tapped. Before the day is through, don’t be surprised if the show also casts Cybil Shepard, Bob Dole running mate Jack Kemp, and you for guest spots. Until then, TV Line reports that Chris Elliott will be stopping by. He’ll play the founder of Greendale Community College, Russell Borchert, who vanished decades ago because of a sex scandal. What’s that? Apparently, retired infomercial pitchman Ron Popeil, 2012 Nobel laureate for literature Mo Yan, and the Ikea Monkey have also just been cast. (One will have an affair with Annie’s Boobs, but which?)...

She's gearing up for the fifth-installment of "Scary Movie," and during promotions Ashley Tisdale rocked the cover of Maxim magazine's May 2013 issue.

While revealing her cleavage in the Stephan Würth front page shoot, the 27-year-old babe dished about everything from her new flick to her obsessive fans.

During her interview, Ashley chatted about her "High School Musical" fans and explained, "Once I instagrammed a picture of me waking up, and the next day this older gentleman came to my parents' house saying he wasn't going to leave till he saw me. I was like, maybe I shouldn't have taken a picture of me in bed?"

When discussing her upcoming comedy, the former Disney gal said, "There were so many cameos, and that's what I love about these movies. They'd write a scene, then look for cameos, and they'd just pop in and do it. It was, like, Mike Tyson's here,...

Chad Ochocinco's already on the rebound with a new chick ... and there's no denying it, girl's got some Serious Junk ... even compared to a random girl in the background doing stripper moves.The video was shot a few days ago in Miami -- showing Ocho and his new lady getting touchy-feely near the beach ... and she's got an ass like an onion. It makes us wanna cry. Bonus: While Ocho cuddles up with the mystery woman,...

Thanks to Hurricane Sandy, we had to endure an additional week before tonight's new episode of How I Met Your Mother.

My wait was made even longer, having sat in line for over three hours to gas up my car tonight. By the first commercial break, though, it was clear that "The Autumn of Breakups" was well worth the wait and deserving of some snaps. Maybe even a snap, circle, snap.  

As one of the biggest fans of Marshall and Lily, the high standard to which I hold their performances up to has rendered me open to disappointment for the much of this season. Here, however, the power couple finally flexed its comedic clout and returned to top form in what had to be one of the best opening five minutes in the show's history.

After witnessing their various slaps and snaps, I thought to myself: somewhere in the world...

A review of last night's "Happy Endings" coming up just as soon as I'm a young, handsome Ron Popeil... "Big White Lies" tried to pull off a trick that I occasionally see smart sitcoms try, in which they dust off a tired, predictable and stupid plotline from many dumb sitcoms past and try to get away with it by constantly commenting on how stupid and cliché it is. For me, though, it virtually never works(*), because even if you're aware of the stupidity, you're still using it. A bad joke doesn't automatically become funny just because the person telling it knows...

Less than two weeks before his Haywire punches and kicks into your local multiplex, there’s been a major news break on Steven Soderbegh‘s final theatrical feature — for the near future, that is — The Side Effects. Previously known as The Bitter Pill (after it was known as, well, The Side Effects), his third collaboration with writer Scott Z. Burns is a “psychopharmacology thriller” that tells of the effects medication wreaks on a young, depressed woman.

And now we know who will play her: ThePlaylist has learned that Green Lantern and The Town actress Blake Lively will take center stage for Soderbergh as the main character, Emily Hawkins. But, as Ron Popeil used to say, wait — there’s more. Haywire and Magic Mike star Channing Tatum is getting back in bed with the director as Hawkins’ soon-to-be-released prisoner husband, while Contagion‘s Jude Law will play her new psychiatrist.

I...

The Devil Inside starts off slow, plays well in the middle and ends with a groan. Coming in at 87 minutes, the first hour or so serves as your standard set-up with a couple of solid scares. Unfortunately this leaves only something like 20 minutes of the worst and most unimaginative parts of the whole thing as it devolves from a faux documentary into a bag of cheap and cliched "found footage" tricks. Not to mention, if you've seen the theatrical trailer, the only part of the film you won't be well ahead of are those final 20 minutes, but once you get there you'll just wish you could hit fast forward.

The story begins as a young woman named Isabella (Fernanda Andrade) heads off to Italy to see if she can help her mother, Maria (Suzan Crowly). Twenty years ago Maria killed three people during an exorcism, was promptly found not guilty for reasons of insanity,...

Despite all of the media chatter about a Mitt Romney win at Tuesday night's Bloomberg/Washington Post Republican presidential debate, the real stars of the show were Herman Cain and his "9-9-9 plan." While Romney drove the fork deeper into fading rival Rick Perry, aided by Perry's underwater tape-recorder delivery, it was Cain who gained the most from the debate, deftly deflecting criticisms of his economic plan, which was mentioned a Ron Popeil-esque 25 times during the debate.

In what may be the most shocking movie news in years, Disney has canceled their Lone Ranger movie. The film was set to star Disney's most bankable star, Johnny Depp, along with hunky Armie Hammer in the title role. The sticking point was money, with a budget of $250 million (how many horses did they want?!). Disney is shelling out that much each for John Carter and The Great and Powerful Oz, both of which are under way, so I guess this was even too much for the Mouse. The movie could still come back if a deal can be reached, because Depp really wants to make the film.

Much less surprising, Texas Governor Rick Perry entered the presidential race, and will be a formidable (and scary) contender. Meanwhile, Rep. Michele Bachmann won the Ames Poll in Iowa. This was just a day after her security and husband shoved and elbowed...

Amidst the breathless hype surrounding Apple's latest next big thing - the iPad - one recalls the breathless promotions from yesteryear, specifically Ron Popeil's various life changing products. People of a certain age are sure to recall the phrase "It slices, it dices, it even makes julienne potatoes." Well, on last night's Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert made that very comparison quite literally, when he used the iPad to slice and dice vegetables. Video after the jump.