W. Lee O'Daniel

W. Lee O'Daniel
W. Lee O'Daniel
	O'Danielc. 1938
United States Senator; fromTexas
	In office; August 4, 1941 – January 3, 1949
Preceded by	Andrew Jackson Houston
Succeeded by	Lyndon B. Johnson
34thGovernor of Texas
	In office; January 17, 1939 – August 4, 1941
Lieutenant	Coke R. Stevenson
Preceded by	James V. Allred
Succeeded by	Coke R. Stevenson
Personal details
Born	Wilbert Lee O'Daniel; March 11, 1890; Malta, Ohio,U.S.
Died	May 11, 1969(aged 79); Dallas,Texas,U.S.
Resting place	Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery,Dallas, Texas
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Merle Estella Butcher
Profession	Musician; politician

Wilbert Lee"Pappy"O'Daniel(March 11, 1890 – May 11, 1969) was an AmericanDemocratic Partypolitician fromTexas,who came to prominence by hosting a popular radio program. Known for hispopulistappeal and support of Texas's business community, O'Daniel served as the 34thgovernor of Texas(1939–1941) and later its juniorUnited States senator(1941–1949). O'Daniel chose not to run for reelection to the Senate in1948and was succeeded by future U.S. presidentLyndon B. Johnson.

O'Daniel was also a songwriter who composed "Beautiful Texas".^[1]

Early life

O'Daniel was born inMalta, Ohio.His father was killed in an accident while O'Daniel was a boy, and his mother remarried. The family moved to a cattle ranch nearArlington, Kansas.O'Daniel attended local schools and graduated from the two-year program at Salt City Business College inHutchinson, Kansas.In 1909 he relocated toAnthony, Kansasto become a stenographer and bookkeeper for a flour milling company. After time with companies inKansas City, MissouriandNew Orleans,in 1925 he began to work for the Burrus Mill flour company inFort Worth.

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 anold timeyband to back his vocals. Originally called theLight Crust Doughboys,notable musicians such asBob Willsgot their start with O'Daniel. After the Doughboys split up, O'Daniel formed theWestern swingbandPat 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.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

Political career

Governor

In 1938, he ran for governor of Texas as aDemocrat.O'Daniel's campaign hailed his flour and the need for pensions and tax cuts. He promised to block asales taxand 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 theTexas Legislature.Despite this position change, he remained personally popular and handily won re-election in 1940. In both elections, his main competition came fromTexas Railroad CommissionerErnest O. Thompson, the former mayor ofAmarillo.

U.S. Senate

In 1941, O'Daniel ran for theUnited States Senatein a special election. He defeatedLyndon Johnsonby 1,311 votes in one of the most controversial elections in state history.^[6]As a result of this experience, in the1948 election,Johnson prepared for a close runoff by arranging for his supporters who controlled votes, includingGeorge Parr,to withhold their final tallies until the statewide results were announced.^[7]As a senator, O'Daniel was ineffective, and most of his legislation was defeated.^[8]He endorsed the anti-Roosevelt Texas Regularsin the1944 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 inDallasand was also active in the insurance business.

O'Daniel ran for governor in 1956 and 1958 and claimed that theBrown v. Board of Educationdecision was part of aCommunistconspiracy. He finished third in the Democratic primaries both times.

Death and burial

O'Daniel died in Dallas on May 11, 1969. He was buried atSparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemeteryin Dallas.

In popular culture

The 2000Coen BrothersfilmO Brother, Where Art Thou?featured a character played byCharles Durningand named Governor Pappy O'Daniel, loosely based on the real O'Daniel, though set inMississippi.^[9]^[10]

References

^"Beautiful Texas by Pappy O'Daniel".Tsl.state.tx.us.RetrievedOctober 12,2018.
^Green, George N. (June 15, 2010)."O'Daniel Wilbert Lee [Pappy]".Tshaonline.org.RetrievedOctober 12,2018.
^Malone, Bill C. (2002)."The Cowboy Image and the Growth of Western Music".Country Music, U.S.A.: Second Revised Edition.University of Texas Press. p.151.ISBN 978-0-292-75262-7.
^Crawford, Bill (2004).Please Pass the Biscuits, Pappy: Pictures of Governor W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel.John Anderson. University of Texas Press.ISBN 978-0-292-70575-3.
^Woods, Randall Bennett (2007). "Pappy".LBJ: Architect of American Ambition.Harvard University Press. p. 148.ISBN 978-0-674-02699-5.
^Caro, Robert A. (1982).The years of Lyndon Johnson. the Path to Power.Penguin Random House.
^Mellen, Joan (2016).Faustian Bargains: Lyndon Johnson and Mac Wallace in the Robber Baron Culture of Texas.London, England: Bloomsbury USA. pp. 74–77.ISBN 978-1-6204-0807-0– viaGoogle Books.
^Green, George N."Governors of Texas: 20. W. Lee O'Daniel".The Texas Politics Project.Austin, TX: University of Texas at Austin.RetrievedMarch 30,2022.
^Sorin, Hillary (August 4, 2010),"Today in Texas History: Gov. Pappy O'Daniel resigns",The Houston Chronicle,retrievedAugust 2,2011,Many cultural and political historians think the character Gov. Menelaus "Pappy" O'Daniel of Mississippi is based on the notorious Texas politician, Wilbert Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel.
^Flensted-Jensen, Pernille (2002),"Something old, something new, something borrowed: the Odyssey and O Brother, Where Art Thou",Classica Et Mediaevalia: Revue Danoise De Philologie,53:13–30,ISBN 978-8772898537.Flensted-Jensen elaborates on the connection between the fictional and the real Pappy O'Daniel on pp. 27–28.

External links

Party political offices
Preceded by James V. Allred	Democraticnominee forGovernor of Texas 1938,1940	Succeeded by Coke R. Stevenson
Preceded by Morris Sheppard	Democraticnominee forU.S. SenatorfromTexas (Class 2) 1941,1942	Succeeded by Lyndon B. Johnson
Political offices
Preceded by James V. Allred	Governor of Texas January 17, 1939 – August 4, 1941	Succeeded by Coke R. Stevenson
U.S. Senate
Preceded by Andrew J. Houston	U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Texas 1941–1949	Succeeded by Lyndon B. Johnson

[1] "Beautiful Texas by Pappy O'Daniel".Tsl.state.tx.us.RetrievedOctober 12,2018.

[2] Green, George N. (June 15, 2010)."O'Daniel Wilbert Lee [Pappy]".Tshaonline.org.RetrievedOctober 12,2018.

[malone-3] Malone, Bill C. (2002)."The Cowboy Image and the Growth of Western Music".Country Music, U.S.A.: Second Revised Edition.University of Texas Press. p.151.ISBN 978-0-292-75262-7.

[crawford-4] Crawford, Bill (2004).Please Pass the Biscuits, Pappy: Pictures of Governor W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel.John Anderson. University of Texas Press.ISBN 978-0-292-70575-3.

[5] Woods, Randall Bennett (2007). "Pappy".LBJ: Architect of American Ambition.Harvard University Press. p. 148.ISBN 978-0-674-02699-5.

[caro-6] Caro, Robert A. (1982).The years of Lyndon Johnson. the Path to Power.Penguin Random House.

[Mellen-7] Mellen, Joan (2016).Faustian Bargains: Lyndon Johnson and Mac Wallace in the Robber Baron Culture of Texas.London, England: Bloomsbury USA. pp. 74–77.ISBN 978-1-6204-0807-0– viaGoogle Books.

[8] Green, George N."Governors of Texas: 20. W. Lee O'Daniel".The Texas Politics Project.Austin, TX: University of Texas at Austin.RetrievedMarch 30,2022.

[9] Sorin, Hillary (August 4, 2010),"Today in Texas History: Gov. Pappy O'Daniel resigns",The Houston Chronicle,retrievedAugust 2,2011,Many cultural and political historians think the character Gov. Menelaus "Pappy" O'Daniel of Mississippi is based on the notorious Texas politician, Wilbert Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel.

[10] Flensted-Jensen, Pernille (2002),"Something old, something new, something borrowed: the Odyssey and O Brother, Where Art Thou",Classica Et Mediaevalia: Revue Danoise De Philologie,53:13–30,ISBN 978-8772898537.Flensted-Jensen elaborates on the connection between the fictional and the real Pappy O'Daniel on pp. 27–28.

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v t e Governorsandlieutenant governorsofTexas
Governors	J. P. Henderson Wood Bell J. W. Henderson Pease Runnels Houston Clark Lubbock Murrah Hamilton Throckmorton Pease Davis Coke Hubbard Roberts Ireland Ross Hogg Culberson Sayers Lanham Campbell Colquitt J. Ferguson Hobby Neff M. Ferguson Moody Sterling M. Ferguson Allred O'Daniel Stevenson Jester Shivers Daniel Connally Smith Briscoe Clements White Clements Richards Bush Perry Abbott
Lieutenant governors	Horton Greer Henderson Dickson Runnels Lubbock Clark Crockett Stockdale Jones J. W. Flanagan(acting) Campbell(ex officio) W. Flanagan(ex officio) Fountain(ex officio) Pickett(ex officio) Hubbard Sayers Storey Martin Gibbs Wheeler Pendleton Crane Jester Browning Neal A. B. Davidson Mayes Hobby Sr. Johnson L. Davidson T. W. Davidson Miller Witt Woodul Stevenson J. L. Smith Shivers Ramsey P. Smith Barnes Hobby Jr. Bullock Perry Ratliff Dewhurst Patrick

v t e United States senators from Texas
Class 1	Rusk Henderson Ward Wigfall Flanagan Maxey Reagan Chilton Mills Culberson Mayfield Connally Daniel Blakley Yarborough Bentsen Krueger Hutchison Cruz
Class 2	S. Houston Hemphill Hamilton Coke Chilton Bailey Johnston Sheppard A. Houston O'Daniel Johnson Blakley Tower Gramm Cornyn

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Other	NARA SNAC