Poet, Provocateur, and Would-Be Politician Kinky Friedman Dies at 79

Both Texas and tall tales are a little bit smaller today, with news that Richard “Kinky” Friedman has passed away.

Friedman had Parkinson’s disease, according to the Texas Tribune, and died at his home in Medina, Texas, at age 79.

“Kinky Friedman stepped on a rainbow at his beloved Echo Hill surrounded by family & friends,” reads a post on X from an account that proclaims itself “Official Twitter for kinkyfriedman.com and the Governor of the Heart of Texas, Kinky Friedman.” “Kinkster endured tremendous pain & unthinkable loss in recent years but he never lost his fighting spirit and quick wit. Kinky will live on as his books are read and his songs are sung.”

Musically, Friedman was best known for his 1973 album Sold American, with a title song about a “faded jaded failing cowboy star” and titles like “High on Jesus” and “Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in Bed.” But Friedman contained multitudes, and multiple talents. He turned to writing mystery novels with familiar-sounding main characters and was a columnist at Texas Monthly, and he was a humanitarian too, founding an animal rescue ranch and a camp for children who have lost a first-responder parent.

And then there was the political campaign.

He ran for governor of Texas in 2006 against incumbent Rick Perry. He lost, but garnered a respectable 12% of the vote, and widespread attention far beyond Texas. He also ran unsuccessfully for the state’s agriculture commissioner.

Most of all, Friedman was known for a giant personality, an ever-present cigar and cowboy hat, and an equal opportunity willingness to offend for the sake of satire. For much more on that, read this 2014 story titled “The Case for Kinky Friedman” in ND’s archives.