One Man a Kingfish - June 12, 2006

Y'all listen up while we relate the story of the Kingfish. 

Some o' you know him as Huey Long, but down in Lou'siana, they still call him by his nickname. Huey ran the state back in the '30s, even after he was elected to the Senate -- an' this was after he'd been Gov'nuh for four years, runnin' on the slogan, "Every Man a King." 

Some say the Kingfish was a dictator, but there are just as many who think he was a real hero to the common folk; he gave 'em roads an' bridges an' schools an' free textbooks. 

Now, if there was one thing Huey could do without dispute, it was talk; he could talk a mule into doing the tango. In fact, on June 12, 1935, he began the second-longest speech ever heard in the Senate -- took two days to finish. 

Speakin' of finishes, the Kingfish met his when a political opponent shot him -- or did he?

Suggested Sites... 

Huey Long.com - official site of the late Kingfish Huey Long Speaks on His "Share The Wealth" Program - the Kingfish speaks! Listen to Huey Long make a populist speech in 1935. Ken Burns American Stories: Huey Long - the man who made the Civil War famous turns his attention to the Kingfish. Sony Pictures: All The King's Men - Sean Penn plays Huey Long -- er, Willie Stark -- in this new version of Robert Penn Warren's novel. The New Yorker: "The Big Sleazy" - the life and times of the Kingfish and his still-potent presence in Louisiana politics.