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George Coulam, the founder and longstanding owner of the Texas Renaissance Festival whose eclectic lifestyle and hunt for a successor were documented in the 2024 HBO docuseries “Ren Faire,” was found dead in his home in Todd Mission, Texas on Wednesday morning. He was 87. An investigation remains ongoing and a cause of death is not known at this time.
The Todd Mission Police Department was dispatched to Coulam’s residence, adjacent to the Renaissance Festival’s premises, on Wednesday morning. The Grimes County Sheriff’s Office and Texas Rangers were present for assistance. Coulam was pronounced dead by authorities upon arrival.
“To our Texas Renaissance family and friends, we are deeply saddened by the loss of George Coulam, founder of the Texas Renaissance Festival,” the Texas Renaissance Festival wrote in a statement on social media. “For more than 50 years, he built a community that has become a cherished tradition for generations of performers, staff and guests. At this time, we ask for respect and privacy for Mr. Coulam’s family and the extended Texas Renaissance Festival family as they grieve.”
Coulam’s death comes less than two weeks after a Grimes County District court ordered the Texas Renaissance Festival must be sold, ending a nearly two-year civil case. In the decision, Judge Gary W. Chaney of the 506th state District Court, also ordered that Coulam must pay over $23 million in damages to cover attorney’s fees and money lost by the fest’s buyer.
The suit alleged that a group of RW Lands Inc., says Texas Stargate, Inc., Royal Campground, Inc., and Texas RF, Inc. agreed to purchase the Festival, property and assets from Coulam for $60 million. The plaintiff claimed that Coulam and his associates did not provide required documents for the sale and that the original owners failed to close the transaction by its agreed-upon date. Coulam denied the allegations.
Coulam founded the Texas Renaissance Festival in 1974 and has overseen its growth into the largest such gathering in the United States. Along with the court order to sell, Coulam also lost office as the mayor of the fest’s premises, Todd Mission, in early May. He had been the only mayor of the town since its 1982 incorporation until losing re-election this year, with city council member Stephen Mensing sworn in.
The operations of the Texas Renaissance Festival, infamous among locals, were documented in the 2024 HBO docuseries “Ren Faire,” which followed Coulam’s seemingly half-hearted search for a successor to lead the festival, and the surrounding business confidantes vying to take over operations. The three-episode run also included details of Coulam’s dedicated online dating pursuits and his unforgiving temperament around his staff. The series’ events concluded prior to the emergence of the civil lawsuit against Coulam that concluded in early May.
“Functionally, he actually is a king. He’s created a real-life fiefdom,” series director and executive producer Lance Oppenheim told Variety in an interview before the series premiered. “The first thing he said to me was ‘I used to play the king, but now I’m a horny old man. I want to find someone that can take care of the festival.’ These were the things just flowing out of him. He was maybe looking for an outlet — somebody that he has no control over. He doesn’t have any friends that he doesn’t employ.”
Coulam faced other legal troubles in recent years, including allegations of sexual harassment and wrongful termination. The festival settled a 2021 lawsuit filed by a former employee, who claimed that Coulam made her sift through “sugar daddy” websites to facilitate his romantic life.
Per Coulam’s official website, he earned his master’s degree in art from the University of California at North Ridge.
English (US) ·