Wilbert Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel (March 11, 1890May 11, 1969) was an American Democratic Party politician from

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, who came to prominence by hosting a popular radio program. Known for his

populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

appeal and support of Texas's business community, O'Daniel served as the 34th

governor of Texas The governor of Texas is the head of state of the U.S. state of Texas. The governor is the head of the executive branch of the government of Texas and is the commander-in-chief of the Texas Military Forces. Established in the Constit ...

(1939–1941) and later its junior

United States senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

(1941–1949). O'Daniel chose not to run for reelection to the Senate in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

and was succeeded by his 1941 Democratic primary opponent and future U.S. president

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

. O'Daniel was also a songwriter who composed "Beautiful Texas".

Early life

O'Daniel was born in

Malta, Ohio Malta is a village in Morgan County, Ohio, United States. The population was 559 at the 2020 census. History Malta was laid out in 1816. The village was named after the European island of Malta. Geography Malta is located on the west side of ...

. His father was killed in an accident while O'Daniel was a boy, and his mother remarried. The family moved to a cattle ranch near Arlington, Kansas. O'Daniel attended local schools and graduated from the two-year program at Salt City Business College in

Hutchinson, Kansas Hutchinson is the largest city in and the county seat of Reno County, Kansas, Reno County, Kansas, United States. The city is located on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887 (thus its nickname of "Salt City") but locals ...

. In 1909 he relocated to Anthony, Kansas to become a stenographer and bookkeeper for a flour milling company. After time with companies in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

and

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, in 1925 he began to work for the Burrus Mill flour company in

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

Radio fame

In the late 1920s, O'Daniel assumed responsibility for the Burrus company's radio advertising. To that end, he wrote songs, sang, and hired a group of musicians to form an old timey band to back his vocals. Originally called the Light Crust Doughboys, notable musicians such as

Bob Wills James Robert "Bob" Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although Spade C ...

got their start with O'Daniel. After the Doughboys split up, O'Daniel formed the

Western swing Western swing, country jazz or smooth country is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which att ...

band Pat O'Daniel and his Hillbilly Boys. The new group was named after O'Daniel's own Hillbilly Flour Company. O'Daniel also hosted a regular noontime radio show heard statewide, which gave him his nickname after a catchphrase used frequently on air – "pass the biscuits, Pappy" – and propelled him into the public spotlight. By the mid-1930s, "Pappy" O'Daniel was a household name in Texas. As a national magazine reporter wrote at the time: "At twelve-thirty sharp each day, a fifteen-minute silence reigned in the state of Texas, broken only by mountain music, and the dulcet voice of W. Lee O'Daniel." The show extolled the values of Hillbilly brand flour, the Ten Commandments and the Bible.

Political career

Governor

In 1938, he ran for governor of Texas as a Democrat. O'Daniel's campaign hailed his flour and the need for pensions and tax cuts. He promised to block a

sales tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...

and raise pensions. O'Daniel won the Democratic primary election with 51 percent of the ballots over twelve opponents. In office, he seemingly went against his campaign promise by proposing a new transaction tax, which was voted down by the

Texas Legislature The Texas State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a p ...

. Despite this position change, he remained personally popular and handily won re-election in 1940. In both elections, his main competition came from Texas Railroad Commissioner Ernest O. Thompson, the former mayor of Amarillo.

U.S. Senate

O'Daniel ran for the United States Senate in the 1941 special election following the death of Morris Sheppard. He defeated

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

by 1,311 votes in one of the most controversial elections in state history. As a result of this experience, in the 1948 election, Johnson prepared for a close runoff by arranging for his supporters who controlled votes, including George Parr, to withhold their final tallies until the statewide results were announced. As a senator, O'Daniel was ineffective, and most of his legislation was defeated. He endorsed the anti- Roosevelt Texas Regulars in the 1944 presidential election. Elected to a full term in 1942, O'Daniel refused to run for another term in 1948.

Later career

After leaving the Senate, O'Daniel bought a ranch near Fort Worth. He invested in real estate in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

and was also active in the insurance business. O'Daniel ran for governor in 1956 and 1958 and claimed that the ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the ...

'' decision was part of a

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

conspiracy. He finished third in the Democratic primaries both times.

Death and burial

O'Daniel died in Dallas on May 11, 1969. He was buried at Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in Dallas.

In popular culture

The 2000

Coen Brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, together known as the Coen brothers (), are an American filmmaking duo. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Among their most acclaimed works are '' Blood Simple'' (198 ...

film '' O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' featured a character played by Charles Durning and named Governor Pappy O'Daniel, loosely based on the real O'Daniel, though set in

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

.. Flensted-Jensen elaborates on the connection between the fictional and the real Pappy O'Daniel on pp. 27–28.

References

External links

* * *
Photos of W. Lee O'Daniel
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History

Congressional Biographical Directory
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odaniel, W. Lee 1890 births 1969 deaths Politicians from Fort Worth, Texas Democratic Party governors of Texas People from Malta, Ohio People from Reno County, Kansas American radio personalities Vocalion Records artists Christian nationalists Dixiecrats Democratic Party United States senators from Texas American conspiracy theorists American anti-communists Burials at Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery People from Anthony, Kansas 20th-century United States senators