Laughing All the Way to the Bank

Weird Al Yankovic exploits crazy continued success on new world tour

Weird Al Yankovic brings his Mandatory World Tour to Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie on August 21.

Photo courtesy of Weird Al Yankovic

It’s been almost 40 years since “Weird Al” Yankovic started writing and recording parody songs, but he’s arguably as popular as he’s ever been. He’s capitalizing on that success with the upcoming Mandatory World Tour, which stops at Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie on Friday, August 21.

Yankovic kicks off the tour — which goes through more than 100 cities in North America, Europe and Australia — with a five-night run at the Planet Hollywood Casino in Las Vegas (May 12-16). Two Oklahoma cities get him directly after, but he won’t make his way back to Texas until August, when he also visits Houston (August 18), San Antonio (August 19) and Austin (August 20).

Yankovic was inescapable in the lead-up to the release of his 2014 album, Mandatory Fun, last July. He debuted a slew of clever videos that all went viral, including “Tacky,” parodying Pharrell Williams’ “Happy”; “Word Crimes,” parodying Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines”; and “Foil,” parodying Lorde's “Royals.”

The videos garnered more than 46 million views in the first week. Yankovic also set the U.S. record for having the most tracks from one album on Spotify’s viral top 10 at one time, taking the first four spots.

Because of the unique promotion aimed at the digital age, Mandatory Fun debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, marking the first No. 1 album of Yankovic’s career and the first time a comedy album had gone to the top in over 50 years.

More proof of his longevity: When “Word Crimes” debuted, Yankovic became only the third singer — with Madonna and Michael Jackson — to have top 40 singles in each of the past four decades. Of course, Jackson and Madonna both helped him do so by allowing him to record songs like “Like a Surgeon” and “Eat It.”

Tickets for the Mandatory World Tour go on sale on Friday, January 30, at 10 am. You can buy tickets online at AXS.com, charge by phone at 888-929-7849 or go to the Verizon Theatre box office. Special pre-sales at weirdal.com start Tuesday, January 27 at 10 am.

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Fashion News

Event celebrating Dallas' Braniff Airways a must for fashion & flying buffs

Courtesy photo

Braniff was always a stylish airline.

Dallas' original hometown airline is having a moment: Braniff International will celebrate its 95th anniversary with an event that promises to be a must for fashion and airline buffs alike.

Called The Braniff Style Tour & Fashion Show, it'll take place on March 11 at the Alexander Mansion, with David Preziosi, Braniff Airways Foundation Board Member and Executive Director of Texas Historical Foundation, presenting a program on what a release calls one of the most revolutionary airlines in history.

The event will include lunch and a mini fashion show featuring Braniff’s epochal flight attendant uniforms created by haute couture fashion designers Emilio Pucci and Halston.

Braniff International began in June 1928 with a small Stinson Detroiter single-engine six-passenger airplane that flew its first flight from Oklahoma City to Tulsa. It operated as an airline until 1982.

braniff airlines stewardess Braniff Airlines flight attendants decked out in stylish uniforms.Courtesy photo

Braniff Airways is now a branding/marketing, online retail and historic airliner tour firm with a portfolio of licensing agreements worldwide. Its history has been preserved by Braniff Airways Foundation, an organization created by Richard Ben Cass, a former pilot and Braniff collector and expert whose book Braniff Airways: Flying Colors was published in 2015.

The Foundation curates the Braniff International Heritage Archives, formerly Braniff Flying Colors Collection, which contains Cass' lifetime collection, and includes original Braniff Airways Advertising Department records and archives.

The collection was founded in 1972, and has become the largest and most comprehensive collection of Braniff memorabilia that includes more than 1000 crew uniforms.

The Foundation also acts as an advocacy group for Braniff buildings in danger of demolition, including the mid-century themed Braniff Operations and Maintenance Base in conjunction with lead Flying Crown Land Group.

In 2014, they authored a nomination for the Braniff Hostess College to determine its eligibility for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. The Hostess College is undergoing a complete restoration and will become a public use facility in the future.

The fashion show promises lots of stretchy fabrics and zowie colors, while the lunch menu is a fun throwback, inspired by vintage Braniff flight menu, with chicken Romanoff, a garden vegetable medley, and strawberry cheesecake.

The Braniff Style Tour & Fashion Show is March 11. Doors open at 10:30 am, with the style show beginning promptly at 11 am, and lunch at 12 pm. Tickets are $60 for "First Class" (includes lunch) and $20 for "Coach" (style show only). Tickets are available online. Proceeds benefit the restoration of the Alexander Mansion.

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