The Texas icon and true “renaissance man” of music and the written word was 79.
The world lost another iconoclastic figure in the Americana, country, and pop culture realm this week when the great Kinky Friedman passed away at his beloved family home, Echo Hill Ranch, in Medina.
His death was announced via a statement posted to X, according to Billboard.
“Kinky Friedman stepped on a rainbow at his beloved Echo Hill surrounded by family & friends,” the message read. “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.”
–Kinky Friedman’s official Twitter account
Close friends Cleve Hattersley and Kent Perkins spoke to the Texas Tribune in the wake of the legend’s death. Friedman had Parkinson’s disease, Hattersley confirmed to the outlet before also reflecting on the qualities that cemented Friedman as a one-of-a-kind thinker and creator that only comes along once in a generation.
“He was a communicator. An unusual, but very pointed and poignant communicator,” Hattersley said to the Tribune. “He could bring you to tears on stage. He could make you roll on the floor in laughter.”
A true representation of Texas celebrity, Friedman (born Richard Samet Friedman) was known and loved for his “outsized persona, pithy one-liners and signature look: curly hair poking out from beneath a black cowboy hat, cigar in hand,” the Tribune astutely notes.
“He has been described as a provocateur, and it’s not in a negative way,” Perkins said. “His objective was to provoke thought to make people think.”
And that was through music, interviews, conversation, stage banter, books, columns: it would be simpler to ask yourself what couldn’t Friedman do or what didn’t he try to accomplish during his time on Earth. He did it all and left an indelible mark wherever he stepped, figuratively speaking.
Musically speaking, Friedman’s best known album was 1973’s Sold American, which featured the title track, “High On Jesus,” “The Ballad Of Charles Whitman” and more. He wrote a popular column at Texas Monthly in addition to authoring a series of popular and successful novels, including 1986’s Greenwich Killing Time, 1987’s A Case Of Lone Star, 1988’s When the Cat’s Away and, most recently, 2008’s What Would Kinky Do? How to Unscrew a Screwed Up World.
At one point, he even ran for Texas Governor with the campaign slogan, “how hard can it be?” Still he garnered 13% of the vote and likely 100% when it came to laughs.
Friedman was a devoted animal lover and champion for their welfare. In the late 1990s he founded an animal rescue called Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch. The Tribune reports that as he neared death, Friedman’s hospital bed faced his beloved hummingbird feeder, according to his friend Hattersly.
Sometimes Friedman would ask Perkins to pick up fried chicken when he went to town. He fed it to his dogs, smoked a cigar and smiled. A few days ago, Perkins went to visit Friedman and saw fantastic-looking dishes of rice and beef stew. He reached for a plate and the cook stopped him. The food was for the dogs.
“That’s just so Kinky,” Perkins said.
–The Texas Tribune
After his passing, Friedman’s estate posted an excerpt from one of his 1993 columns about his love for animals: “They say when you die and go to heaven all the dogs and cats you’ve ever had in your life come running to meet you.”
There’s no doubt they were all waiting for their friend and rescuer with joy. For a more in-depth look at the life of Friedman, click here for the Texas Tribune‘s comprehensive and touching tribute.