Dr. Demento Retires, Bringing End To Radio Show Of 55 Years That Launched Weird Al's Career

TV & Film

Jun 22

Radio DJ Barret Hansen, better known as Dr. Demento, has officially announced his retirement after a 55-year career. On his show, Demento would often play novelty songs, such as comedy duo Barnes and Barnes' “Fish Heads” and Benny Bell’s “Shaving Cream”. He is most well-known, however, for giving parody song artist Alfred “Weird Al” Yankovic his first big break, playing his song “Belvedere Cruising” on the radio.“When I first got this tape, it had nothing written on it,” Demento would later recall, “It was a song that Al wrote about driving around the streets of Lynwood in his parent’s Plymouth Belvedere.” A fictionalized version of Dr. Demento would appear in the parody biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, played by Rainn Wilson.

Hansen, before taking up the name “Dr. Demento”, was a contributor to the Rolling Stone magazine, before later entering the world of radio. As stated before, his career lasted for 55 years, and Demento is currently 84 years old. “It’s been a blast,” he said in a message to his fans, “but I have come to the decision that I need to hang up my top hat soon”. His final radio shows will comprise archived material from his show before he hangs up his top hat for good.

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