Governor Earl Long of Louisiana with Blaze Starr at the Sho-Bar on Bourbon Street, New Orleans
Earl Long, the "last of the red hot poppas" of politics, was born 126 years ago.
Long was the 45th Governor of Louisiana for three non-consecutive terms. The red hot poppas tag referred to his stump-speaking skills. He served as governor from 1939 to 1940, 1948 to 1952, and 1956 to 1960.
Long was well known for eccentric behavior, leading some to suspect that he suffered from bipolar disorder. In his last term in office his wife, Blanche Revere Long (1902–1998), and others attempted to remove him on the grounds of mental instability.
For a time, Long was confined to the Southeast Louisiana Hospital in Mandeville, but his legal adviser, Joseph A. Sims, was said to have "rescued" Long from the institution. Long was never formally diagnosed with any mental illness.
Commentators have speculated that political opposition may have led the effort to prove him mentally incompetent, including his wife, who resented his connection with Blaze Starr.
A.J. Liebling, the New Yorker writer, told Long’s story in The Earl of Louisiana.
Here, Jay Chavalier performs “The Ballad of Earl K. Long”