Totally 80's: T. Boone and Icahn

Indiana Jones will soon be in theaters, Duran Duran is on tour, and T. Boone Pickens and Carl Icahn are trying to shake up companies. Can big hair and shoulder pads be next?

Yes, the 1980's, a time when Yahoo cofounder Jerry Yang was just a school kid in San Jose, California, are truly back.

Pickens told CNBC this morning that he has bought 10 million shares of Yahoo, a little less than 1 percent of the company.

The Texas oilman said he jumped when he saw Icahn's move. Icahn "does smart things for shareholders," Pickens said.

Pickens and Icahn often worked together in the past, when they were attacked as "corporate raiders." Sieges on Phillips Petroleum, USX, and Texaco were among their high points.

Picken's piece of Yahoo is small, but it adds to a growing base of dissident shareholders. Bill Miller of Legg Mason and Gordan Crawford of Capital Research and Management have criticized with how Yahoo's management and board handled the takeover approach from Microsoft. Their support would mean that Icahn already has more than a third of Yahoo shareholders backing his proxy challenge.

Pickens disclosed his investment as he was about to celebrate his 80th birthday. Now what could be more totally 80's than that?