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W. Lee O'Daniel

W. Lee O'Daniel
Wilbert Lee O'Daniel.jpg
United States Senator
from Texas
In office
August 4, 1941 – January 3, 1949
Preceded by Andrew Jackson Houston
Succeeded by Lyndon B. Johnson
34th Governor of Texas
In office
January 17, 1939 – August 4, 1941
Lieutenant Coke R. Stevenson
Preceded by James Allred
Succeeded by Coke R. Stevenson
Personal details
Born Wilbert Lee O'Daniel
(1890-03-11)March 11, 1890
Malta, Morgan County, Ohio
Died May 12, 1969(1969-05-12) (aged 79)
Dallas, Texas
Resting place Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in Dallas
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Merle Estella Butcher
Profession Musician; politician
Religion Baptist

Wilbert Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel (March 11, 1890 – May 12, 1969) was a conservative Democratic Party politician from Texas, who came to prominence by hosting a popular radio program. Known for his populist appeal and support of Texas's business community, Pappy O'Daniel was the governor of Texas and later its junior U.S. senator. Excluding the 1960 race for the Democratic presidential nomination in which Johnson contested none of the primaries, O'Daniel was the only person ever to have defeated Lyndon B. Johnson in an election. O'Daniel was also a songwriter who composed "Beautiful Texas".

The 2000 Coen Brothers 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, and set in Mississippi.

O'Daniel was born in Malta, 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 near Arlington, Kansas. O'Daniel attended local schools and graduated from the two-year program at Salt City Business College in Hutchinson, Kansas. 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 and New Orleans, in 1925 he began to work for the Burrus Mill flour company in Fort Worth.


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