Richard "Rich" Texan, also known as "The Rich Texan" and Senator Shady Bird Johnson[1], is a stereotypical rich, callous, but gregarious, business owner from Springfield. He wears a tan suit with a bolo tie and a white cowboy hat (which he wore on the day Kennedy was shot) and is in his 70s. He holds two guns at once.
History[]
The Rich Texan has a fortune of 290 million dollars, although at one time he was worth more than 1000000000 dollars (he was once accepted into Billionaire Camp[2]). He once owned a basketball team called the Austin Celtics, which he lost to Mr Burns in a card game. It is revealed that he often secretly mixed steroid with the cocaine consumed by the players to enhance their performance (a parody of the Boston Celtics) [3].
He is an active member of the Springfield Republican Party and speaks with a heavy Texas drawl. In Season 5's "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)" (the Rich Texan's debut), Homer addresses the Rich Texan as "Senator", although this was never mentioned again [4]. He once owned a logging company and once attempted to cut down Springfield's tallest Redwood tree, until his company was destroyed by the gigantic tree after it slid down a hill [5]. He also once owned all of Mr. Burns's possessions, when he won them in a bet [6]. One of Richard's fondest dreams is to build the world's first drive-through humidor [7]. He claims to also be a member of an unnamed group of oil tycoons who make foolish purchases, having bought a stained glass bathrobe and the world’s fattest racehorse.[8]
Richard always carried two revolvers, and he had a common habit of pulling them out and firing them into the air while yelling, "Yee-haw!" whenever he is happy or excited. He has been to jail at least once when one of his stray bullets hit a Texas Ranger and the police made him switch to blanks, but he noted that "They just don't feel the same" [9]. He once held Homer and Moe at gunpoint, while forcing them to walk along with him after being tricked by the two. He once went over the top and lost his mind after doing something generous for Ned [10]. In "A Serious Flanders: Part One", Johnson apparently owed millions of dollars. After begging for his life, he was shot dead by debt collectors after he was taken hostage and most of his body was dissolved except for his face.
Richard revealed that he suffers from pogonophobia (the fear of beards and mustaches), the excuse he gives Homer for parking in a handicap spot; he then promptly shoots at least one man dressed as Santa Claus [11]. He is also obsessive-compulsive and counts by stepping with his left leg 1-2-3-4 before firing his pistols [12].
Richard stated that he enjoys moonlight walks on the beach.[13]
Richard's license plate reads "NO SHAME" [14].
He also drills for oil, although he claims that he doesn't do it for profit, but instead uses it for his private use for dancing (which involves him yelling "Yee-haw" under an oil tower spraying oil and dancing a jig), which he demonstrates to Bart and Lisa when they accuse him of fracking.
Family[]
Richard Texan has a gay grandson [15] and a daughter named Paris Texan (who looks and acts like Paris Hilton, and whose name is a play on Paris, Texas) [16].
His grandfather served in the Confederate military, as he reacts to Bart mooning the flag "That's the flag my grandpappy rebelled against!"[17]
Trivia[]
- The character shows hints of Lyndon Johnson, who was once a U.S. Senator based in Texas and whose wife was nicknamed "Lady Bird." Johnson also became President following the assassination of John Kennedy. However, Johnson's wealth was hardly a fraction compared to that the Rich Texan. Johnson even took blue collar jobs to make through his early life.[18] Unlike the Rich Texan, Johnson was not a businessman, and was even considered to be a pioneer of clean environment and gun control legislation as well.https://www.nps.gov/lyjo/planyourvisit/upload/environmentcs2.pdf https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/gun-control-lessons-from-lyndon-johnson/2012/12/16/38f3941e-47b4-11e2-ad54-580638ede391_story.html
- The character appears to have some shades of J.R. Ewing, the wealthy, opportunistic antagonist on the 1978-1991 tv series Dallas. However, despite being often ruthless, Ewing was not nearly as eccentric as the Rich Texan and had a far more stable state of mind.
- The character is likely also loosely based on T. Boone Pickens, an extremely wealthy Texas-based oil company owner who gained notoriety for environmental pollution. In 2008, years after the Rich Texan first appeared on The Simpsons, Pickens would somehow start to publicly advocate for wind and natural gas power, though it was believed that this was, in part, intended to also help his water enterprises due to the fact that his proposed wind farm was to be built on land with large amounts of water reserves.https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/boone-pickens-wants-to-sell-you-his-water/
Appearances[]
- Episode – "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)"
- Episode – "Sideshow Bob Roberts"
- Episode – "Homie the Clown"
- Episode – "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds"
- Episode – "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" (archive footage)
- Episode – "Bart After Dark"
- Episode – "Bart Carny"
- Episode – "Lisa the Simpson"
- Episode – "Mom and Pop Art"
- Episode – "A Tale of Two Springfields"
- Episode – "Lisa the Tree Hugger"
- Episode – "I'm Goin' to Praiseland"
- Episode – "Brawl in the Family"
- Episode – "Sweets and Sour Marge"
- Episode – "Weekend at Burnsie's"
- Episode – "Large Marge"
- Episode – "Special Edna"
- Episode – "Pray Anything"
- Episode – "Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington"
- Episode – "Dude, Where's My Ranch?"
- Episode – "Moe Baby Blues"
- Episode – "Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens and Gays"
- Episode – "Simple Simpson"
- Episode – "Bart-Mangled Banner"
- Episode – "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass"
- Episode – "There's Something About Marrying"
- Episode – "A Star is Torn"
- Episode – "Marge's Son Poisoning"
- Episode – "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story"
- Episode – "Million Dollar Abie"
- Episode – "Jazzy and the Pussycats"
- Episode – "Ice Cream of Margie (with the Light Blue Hair)"
- Episode – "Revenge is a Dish Best Served Three Times"
- Episode – "Homerazzi"
- Episode – "The Boys of Bummer"
- Episode – "You Kent Always Say What You Want"
- – The Simpsons Movie
- Episode – "He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs"
- Episode – "Midnight Towboy"
- Episode – "E. Pluribus Wiggum"
- Episode – "Dial "N" for Nerder"
- Episode – "Any Given Sundance"
- Episode – "All About Lisa"
- Episode – "Lost Verizon"
- Episode – "Double, Double, Boy in Trouble"
- Episode – "Treehouse of Horror XIX"
- Episode – "Dangerous Curves"
- Episode – "MyPods and Boomsticks"
- Episode – "The Burns and the Bees"
- Episode – "Take My Life, Please"
- Episode – "Coming to Homerica"
- Episode – "Judge Me Tender"
- Episode – "The Fool Monty"
- Episode – "Donnie Fatso"
- Episode – "Homer Scissorhands"
- Episode – "Politically Inept, with Homer Simpson"
- Episode – "Moe Goes from Rags to Riches"
- Episode – "At Long Last Leave"
- Episode – "Adventures in Baby-Getting"
- Episode – "Gone Abie Gone"
- Episode – "Changing of the Guardian"
- Episode – "Dark Knight Court"
- Episode – "What Animated Women Want"
- Episode – "The Fabulous Faker Boy"
- Episode – "The Simpsons Guy"
- Episode – "Four Regrettings and a Funeral"
- Episode – "Labor Pains"
- Episode – "The Kid is All Right"
- Episode – "White Christmas Blues"
- Episode – "Married to the Blob"
- Episode – "The War of Art"
- Episode – "Opposites A-Frack"
- Episode – "Simpsorama"
- Episode – "I Won't Be Home for Christmas"
- Episode – "Walking Big & Tall"
- Episode – "Peeping Mom"
- Episode – "Paths of Glory" (crowd during Amelia's invention presentation)
- Episode – "Monty Burns' Fleeing Circus"
- Episode – "There Will Be Buds"
- Episode – "Havana Wild Weekend" (Volture's Nest)
- Episode – "The Cad and the Hat"
- Episode – "Dogtown"
- Episode – "Springfield Splendor"
- Episode – "The Serfsons"
- Episode – "The Old Blue Mayor She Ain't What She Used to Be"
- Episode – "Singin' in the Lane"
- Episode – "Haw-Haw Land"
- Episode – "Marge the Lumberjill" (seen at school play)
- Episode – "Thanksgiving of Horror"
- Episode – "Todd, Todd, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?"
- Episode – "Bart the Bad Guy"
- Episode – "Highway to Well" (seen at party)
- Episode – "I, Carumbus"
- Episode – "Wad Goals"
- Episode – "Treehouse of Horror XXXII"
- Episode – "A Serious Flanders: Part One"
- Episode – "Habeas Tortoise"
- Episode – "One Angry Lisa"
- Episode – "Carl Carlson Rides Again"
- Episode – "Write Off This Episode"
- Episode – "Homer's Crossing"
- Episode – "It's a Blunderful Life"
- Episode – "Night of the Living Wage"
The Simpsons: Season Five | ||||
"Homer's Barbershop Quartet": | "Cape Feare": | "Homer Goes to College": | "Rosebud": | "Treehouse of Horror IV": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
"Marge on the Lam": | "Bart's Inner Child": | "Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood": | "The Last Temptation of Homer": | "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Minor |
"Homer the Vigilante": | "Bart Gets Famous": | "Homer and Apu": | "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy": | "Deep Space Homer": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
"Homer Loves Flanders": | "Bart Gets an Elephant": | "Burns' Heir": | "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song": | "The Boy Who Knew Too Much": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
"Lady Bouvier's Lover": | "Secrets of a Successful Marriage": | |||
Absent | Absent |
The Simpsons: Season Six | ||||
"Bart of Darkness": | "Lisa's Rival": | "Another Simpsons Clip Show": | "Itchy & Scratchy Land": | "Sideshow Bob Roberts": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Minor |
"Treehouse of Horror V": | "Bart's Girlfriend": | "Lisa on Ice": | "Homer Badman": | "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
"Fear of Flying": | "Homer the Great": | "And Maggie Makes Three": | "Bart's Comet": | "Homie the Clown": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Cameo |
"Bart vs. Australia": | "Homer vs. Patty and Selma": | "A Star is Burns": | "Lisa's Wedding": | "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Minor |
"The PTA Disbands": | "'Round Springfield": | "The Springfield Connection": | "Lemon of Troy": | "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
The Simpsons: Season Eight | ||||
"Treehouse of Horror VII": | "You Only Move Twice": | "The Homer They Fall": | "Burns, Baby Burns": | "Bart After Dark": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Cameo |
"A Milhouse Divided": | "Lisa's Date with Density": | "Hurricane Neddy": | "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)": | "The Springfield Files": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
"The Twisted World of Marge Simpson": | "Mountain of Madness": | "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious": | "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show": | "Homer's Phobia": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
"Brother from Another Series": | "My Sister, My Sitter": | "Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment": | "Grade School Confidential": | "The Canine Mutiny": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
"The Old Man and the Lisa": | "In Marge We Trust": | "Homer's Enemy": | "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase": | "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
The Simpsons: Season Nine | ||||
"The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson": | "The Principal and the Pauper": | "Lisa's Sax": | "Treehouse of Horror VIII": | "The Cartridge Family": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
"Bart Star": | "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons": | "Lisa the Skeptic": | "Realty Bites": | "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
"All Singing, All Dancing": | "Bart Carny": | "The Joy of Sect": | "Das Bus": | "The Last Temptation of Krust": |
Absent | Minor | Absent | Absent | Absent |
"Dumbbell Indemnity": | "Lisa the Simpson": | "This Little Wiggy": | "Simpson Tide": | "The Trouble with Trillions": |
Absent | Minor | Absent | Absent | Absent |
"Girly Edition": | "Trash of the Titans": | "King of the Hill": | "Lost Our Lisa": | "Natural Born Kissers": |
Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Gallery[]
Citations[]
- ↑ Mr. Burns once called him "Shady Bird Johnson" in The Seemingly Never-Ending Story
- ↑ The Burns and the Bees
- ↑ The Burns and the Bees
- ↑ $pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)
- ↑ Lisa the Tree Hugger
- ↑ The Seemingly Never-Ending Story
- ↑ The Simpsons Beyond Forever
- ↑ Lisa the Simpson
- ↑ $pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)
- ↑ Pray Anything
- ↑ Midnight Towboy
- ↑ The Seemingly Never-Ending Story
- ↑ Marge's Son Poisoning
- ↑ The Seemingly Never-Ending Story
- ↑ Million Dollar Abie
- ↑ Homerazzi
- ↑ Bart-Mangled Banner
- ↑ *Woods, Randall B. ''Prisoners of Hope: Lyndon B. Johnson, the Great Society, and the Limits of Liberalism'' (2016), pp. 44–48.