George Coulam

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George Coulam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

George Coulam
Born	George C. Coulam 1938 (age 86) Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.^[1]
Other names	The King King George
Occupation(s)	business owner, mayor
Known for	founder of the Texas Renaissance Festival
Relatives	David Coulam
Website	www.georgeccoulam.com

George C. Coulam (c. 1938) is an American business owner. He is the founder of the Texas Renaissance Festival (TRF), the largest Renaissance fair in the United States.^[2] Since 1982, he has also served as the mayor of Todd Mission, Texas.^[3]

Coulam drew wider public attention after being featured in the 2024 HBO documentary series, Ren Faire. The series explores a succession crisis as Coulam, who founded the TRF in 1974, considers retirement.^[4]

Biography

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Coulam was born to a Mormon family in Salt Lake City, Utah and attended the San Fernando Valley State College. In 1974, Coulam and his brother David purchased 15 acres of land on a former strip mine and founded the TRF. In 1982, Coulam and others incorporated the city of Todd Mission and expanded the TRF. In 1999, Coulam married a woman from Thailand, Susie. Coulam's mansion, Stargate Manor, sits on 200 acres of land in Todd Mission.^[5]

In 2012, Coulam authored a book entitled Mind-Wars, which claims that holistic medicine reversed his Alzheimer's disease.^[6]

Coulam has been accused multiple times of sexual harassment,^[7] including in a lawsuit by a former personal assistant in 2018,^[8] and another lawsuit by a former personal assistant in 2020.^[9]^[10]

In popular culture

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In 2002, Coulam was parodied in a season 6 episode of King of the Hill entitled "Joust Like a Woman."[1]

In 2021, American filmmaker Lance Oppenheim produced a documentary about the future of the TRF as Coulam planned to retire at the end of the season. Released in June 2024 on HBO, the three-episode series depicts Coulam's lifestyle and the trials and tribulations of the festival over a three-year period.^[11] In an interview for NPR, Oppenheim described George as, "George is, I guess, for the lack of the better words, this is that someone describes him in the series, a self-made king. I don't know how many there are out there in America, probably very few, but this is a man who created the largest Renaissance fair in the country. It got so large that he decided to incorporate a city around the fair, and in that city, he became the mayor of everyone around him. Everyone votes for him every single year. And so in a way, he created a real-life fiefdom, of which he has been the sole ruler of for the last five decades".^[12]

References

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^ "HBO's documentary series, Ren Faire, chronicles the personal life of George Coulam and his plans after retirement!". sanctuaryfilmfestival.com. Sanctuary Film Festival. June 3, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
^ Mackay, Jordan (November 1999). "Renaissance Man". texasmonthly.com. Texas Monthly. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
^ "City Council". toddmissiontx.gov. City of Todd Mission. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
^ Galuppo, Mia (January 10, 2024). "Ryan Gosling's 'Fall Guy,' '3 Body Problem' Headed to SXSW". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
^ Prasad, Sumith (June 2, 2024). "George Coulam: Where is the TRF Founder Now?". thecinemaholic.com. TheCinemaholic. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
^ Coulam, George (October 30, 2012). Mind-Wars. Tate Publishing. p. 128. ISBN 978-1621470878. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
^ Rouner, Jef (December 15, 2020). "New Reports About Ren Fest Owner George Coulam". Houston Press. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
^ Suayan, John (May 23, 2018). "Court papers detail woman's 'demeaning' experience as Ren Fest owner's personal assistant". Southeast Texas Record. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
^ Homer, Michelle (November 25, 2020). "Texas Renaissance Festival founder 'King George' Coulam accused of sexual harassment in lawsuit". khou.com. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
^ Hennes, Rebecca (June 16, 2021). "Texas Renaissance Festival settles case with employee who accused founder of sexual harassment". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
^ Hibberd, James (June 9, 2024). "'Ren Faire' Director on What Happened After Finale, and If George Is Still Single". hollywoodreporter.com. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
^ Benk, Ryan (June 9, 2024). "A new docuseries 'Ren Fair' follows the creator of a Texas Renaissance fair". npr.org. NPR. Retrieved June 10, 2024.

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