Kinky Friedman, eccentric singer-songwriter, novelist, humorist and Texas gubernatorial candidate, dies at age 79

Eccentric singer-songwriter, novelist, humorist and former Texas gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman died Thursday after battling Parkinson’s disease. He was 79.

Friedman died at his home on Echo Hill Ranch in Medina.

“Kinky Friedman stepped onto a rainbow at his beloved Echo Hill surrounded by family and friends,” said a statement about his death on the social media site X. “Kinkster suffered tremendous pain and unimaginable loss over the past few 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.”

Born on October 31, 1944, Friedman was known for his unique narrative style, which was influenced by American satirists such as Mark Twain and Will Rogers.

Friedman studied psychology and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1966.

His band, Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys, gained attention in the 1970s with satirical songs in a folksy cowboy style. Titles included “Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in Bed” and “The Ballad of Charles Whitman.”

The protagonist of his crime novels of the 1980s and 1990s was called Kinky Friedman.

In 2006, Friedman ran a colorful campaign as an independent candidate for governor of Texas, receiving 12 percent of the vote and finishing fourth in the race against Republican incumbent Rick Perry.

Friedman also ran for the Democratic nomination for Texas Secretary of Agriculture in 2010 and 2014, but was not nominated.

As a political candidate, he supported the legalization of marijuana, casino gambling, same-sex marriage, tougher action on illegal immigration, pay raises for teachers, and the abolition of the death penalty.