A blaze had been in a fireplace in the hillside house when three family members discovered the couple about 1 p.m., said sheriff's Sgt. Conrad Grayson, a fire investigator.

"The house was full of smoke when they opened the door," Grayson said. "We examined the fireplace. They were burning wood. They (family) had found the flue closed. They opened it."

Shocked neighbors on the rural one-block street on a green hillside described the Yankovics as "sweethearts," nice people who were proud of their son.

I met Nick (and Mary) at the first show at the OC Fair last summer. When I spotted them in the audience before the show I went up to say "hi." Nick, especially, was very friendly and greeted me with a warm handshake (and he held my hand through our brief conversation). I asked him what his favorite song of Al's was, and after taking a moment to think about it and consulting with Mary and the other relatives that were there, he said "it's the one where he comes out into the audience and gives scarves to women." I told him that was my favorite too.

The following night, when I got to see Al after the show I told him that I really liked his parents, and he said exhuberantly "I really like 'em too!"