History Main / FatSweatySouthernerInAWhiteSuit

** Blake Dexter, the BigBad of ''[[VideoGame/HitmanAbsolution Absolution]]'', is a subversion: he's got the look, the suit, the drawl, and the attitude for this trope down to a 'T', except he's actually a midwesterner from South Dakota. It's very obvious that Dexter and his cowboy hat-wearing cronies were originally meant to be Texan, but for whatever reason this was changed sometime before release.

** Blake Dexter, the BigBad of ''[[VideoGame/HitmanAbsolution Absolution]]'', is a subversion: he's got the look, the suit, the drawl, and the attitude for this trope down to a 'T', except he's actually a Midwesterner from South Dakota. It's obvious that Dexter and his cowboy hat-wearing cronies were originally meant to be Texan but for some reason, this was changed sometime before release.

Like DastardlyWhiplash, this is an oddly specific character. Often a villain, or at the very least extremely shady, the Fat, Sweaty Southerner in a White Suit is where the CorruptHick intersects with the VillainousGlutton. They are always obese. They always speak with a strong Southern accent, normally an upper class drawl. They are almost always dressed in a white suit, cane optional. If it's not truly white, it'll be pale enough to have the same effect. If it's someplace in the DeepSouth, like Mississippi or Louisiana, they will be extremely sweaty and constantly dabbing themselves with a handkerchief when not lazily fanning themselves. This is optional in places like Kentucky, but they will occasionally [[HeatWave manage to be sweaty]] even in an Appalachian winter.

The root of the stereotype is in actual Southern fashions, combined with negative stereotypes of plantation owners. The white suit was an enduring Southern fashion down to the '70s, and can still be seen to this day, because the South is ''hot'', not to mention humid. The best such suits were made of linen, which is naturally moisture-wicking and highly thermally conductive; the next-best quality was seersucker, a cotton weave in which most of the cloth stays away from the skin. (Seersucker suits are fashionable to this day in UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC, which is very much a part of the South's subtropical climate zone.) Being white meant that the suit reflected light, and so didn't get hot as fast as other fabrics; it also allowed its wearer to show off that he didn't have to do anything that would get his clothing dirty.

He occasionally has JabbaTableManners, and often has a careless, laid-back manner. He's probably NouveauRiche and quite possibly a CorruptHick; he's almost certainly not an aristocratic, genteel, warlike SouthernGentleman.

He might be rich by anyone's standards; or he might just be better-off than the rural poverty that surrounds him. One way or the other, he can afford very large quantities of very good food, and it's not at all unlikely that he gets the money from being part of, or the leader of, a corrupt local government.

* The movie ''Film/{{Life|1999}}'' features at least three examples. Two were prison wardens, the first of whom fits the trope to a T. The second warden is identical in appearance but a much more decent human being. A minor but eventually important villain in the beginning of the film also shows that fat, sweaty, white-bedecked Southern bastards aren't exclusively white.

** Blake Dexter, the BigBad of ''[[VideoGame/HitmanAbsolution Absolution]]'', is a subversion: he's got the look, the suit, the drawl and the attitude for this trope down to a 'T', except he's actually a Midwesterner from South Dakota. It's obvious that Dexter and his cowboy hat-wearing cronies were originally meant to be Texan, but for some reason this was changed sometime before release.

** Homer was definitely trying for the look when he re-styled himself as "Colonel Homer", manager of Lurleen Lumpkin in the 3rd season episode of the same name. He brings the suit out again in Season 19's "Papa Don't Leech", when Lurleen returns to Springfield.

Historical figures who sported the Southern white suit included Creator/MarkTwain and Colonel Harland Sanders[[note]]The founder of UsefulNotes/KentuckyFriedChicken[[/note]]; but neither of them was particularly fat or particularly villainous. Mark Twain's satires of Southern aristocracy might have been the TropeCodifier here.

* Big Boss, the main villain of ''[[WesternAnimation/COPSAnimatedSeries C.O.P.S.]]'', minus the Southerner part.

* Mr. Fishchoder (who even has a white eyepatch) from ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'', minus the fat part.
* Big Boss from ''[[WesternAnimation/{{COPS}} C.O.P.S.]]''.
* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanet'':

* Averted with "Big Daddy" Labouff from ''Disney/ThePrincessAndTheFrog''. He's a Fat, Sweaty Southerner in a White Suit and a bit of a glutton, but a pretty NiceGuy.

* ''Film/TalesFromTheHood'': Minus the fat and sweaty parts, but William [[MeaningfulName Cotton]] sports one, and jokes about how Henry would have been ''serving'' the party in the good ol' days, rather than hosting it.

Like DastardlyWhiplash, this is an oddly specific character. Often a villain, or at the very least extremely shady, the Fat, Sweaty Southerner in a White Suit is where the CorruptHick intersects with the VillainousGlutton. They are always obese. They always speak with a strong Southern accent, normally an upper class drawl. They are almost always dressed in a [[ManInWhite white suit]], cane optional. If it's not truly white, it'll be pale enough to have the same effect. If it's someplace in the DeepSouth, like Mississippi or Louisiana, they will be extremely sweaty and constantly dabbing themselves with a handkerchief when not lazily fanning themselves. This is optional in places like Kentucky, but they will occasionally [[HeatWave manage to be sweaty]] even in an Appalachian winter.

For non-fat, non-sweaty, non-Southerners, who are unlikely to be corrupt but who may have a different set of villainous characteristics, see ManInWhite. For Southerners too blue-blooded to sweat, see SouthernGentleman. For characters who are more powerful and even less genteel, see CorruptHick (remembering that there's a lot of overlap). For villains who eat a great deal, Southern or not, see VillainousGlutton. And for other stereotypes of the obese, compare and contrast FatBastard, FatIdiot, and FatSlob.

* The antagonist of ''Film/TheMuppetMovie'', Doc Hopper, the owner of Doc Hopper's French-Fried Frog Legs is fat, Southern, and wears a white suit. He also tries to [[LetsMeetTheMeat force Kermit to advertise his restaurant]], resorting to attempting both brainwashing and ''murder'' when he refuses.

* In the ‘’Series/HorribleHistories’’ sketch about Harriet Tubman, she has to hide from one of these. [[FatIdiot And he’s stupid enough she does it easily.]]

Historical figures who sported the Southern white suit included Creator/MarkTwain and Colonel Harland Sanders[[note]]The founder of UsefulNotes/KentuckyFriedChicken[[/note]]; but neither of them was particularly fat or particularly villainous (unless, of course, you're asking the chickens, in the latter case). Mark Twain's satires of Southern aristocracy might have been the TropeCodifier here.

* ''VideoGame/HitmanBloodMoney'':
** Skip Muldoon is a captain of a luxury riverboat, drug smuggler, and DepravedBisexual with an emphasis on the depraved.
** John "Pappy" Le Blanc: a paranoid, senile, and dangerously rich head of the Mississippi drug cartel that his half-brother Skip worked for.
** Blake Dexter, the BigBad of ''[[VideoGame/HitmanAbsolution Absolution]]'', is a subversion: he's got the look, the suit, the drawl and the attitude for this trope down to a 'T', except he's actually a Midwesterner from South Dakota. It's obvious that Dexter was originally meant to be Texan, but for some reason this was changed sometime before release.

* Another very young example is [[WesternAnimation/GravityFalls Gideon]] [[EnfanteTerrible Gleeful]]. He's ten years old and his suit is baby blue, but he's chubby, pig-like, has an impressive Southern drawl, is a CorruptHick and a [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior villain through and through.]]
* Mr. Fishchoder (who even has a white eyepatch) from ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'', m inus the fat part.

** Also played with in the episode "Bart the Fink", where the IRS is investigating Krusty the Klown's off-shore accounts and a Fat Sweaty Caymen Islander in a White Suit answers the phone:

Historical figures who sported the Southern white suit included Creator/MarkTwain and Colonel Harland Sanders[[note]]The founder of KentuckyFriedChicken[[/note]]; but neither of them was particularly fat or particularly villainous (unless, of course, you're asking the chickens, in the latter case). Mark Twain's satires of Southern aristocracy might have been the TropeCodifier here.

** In "Mayored to the Mob", Homer becomes Mayor Quimby's bodyguard, earning his certification from a bodyguard school run by [[https://frinkiac.com/img/S10E09/546545.jpg Leavelle]], who fits this trope.

* Played straight with another John Goodman one: Layton T. Montgomery, the attorney defending the honey industry from Barry's lawsuit in ''WesternAnimation/BeeMovie''. John Goodman seems to like that role.

* ''Film/{{Casablanca}}'' isn't set in the American South, but Signor Ferrari otherwise fits the description quite well.

* Sheriff Bess is this in ''Film/AFaceInTheCrowd''. He doesn't have the white suit on when we see him, but we can assume he ''has'' one.

** Blake Dexter, the BigBad of ''[[VideoGame/HitmanAbsolution Absolution]]'', is a subversion: he's got the look, the suit, the drawl and the attitude for this trope down to a 'T', except he's actually from South Dakota, which is nowhere near the south. It's obvious from Dexter's appearance that he was originally meant to be Texan, as was his hometown of Hope, but both were changed sometime before release.

** Blake Dexter, the BigBad of ''[[VideoGame/HitmanAbsolution Absolution]]'', is a subversion: he's got the look, the suit, the drawl and the attitude for this trope down to a T, except he's actually from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dakota South Dakota]], which, you might notice, is nowhere near the south and only 400 miles from the Canadian border. It's obvious from Dexter's appearance that he was originally meant to be Texan, as was his hometown of but both were changed sometime before release.

* Wrestling/JimCornette, who didn't like working people, or women and at the very least was very unconscious or apathetic to the concerns of black people and often wore a white suit. But he didn't get fat until a fall from a scaffold busted his knees.

** In "The Monkey Suit", during the trial against Lisa and evolution, Ned has an overweight southern lawyer named Wallace Brady (guest-starred by Creator/LarryHagman) at his side. The guy opposes Lisa and greatly supports creationism, calling evolution a load of "Hollywood hooey", not to mention he's not afraid of manipulating the audience at the courtroom with a cute baby deer (Bambi apparently) by claiming evolution is what allowed humans to kill his mother, with the intent of siding people against Lisa. [[AmoralAttorney Brady also sees no problem whatsoever with sending an ''eight years old girl'' straight to jail if it means teaching religion at schools]].

** In "The Monkey Suit", during the trial against Lisa and evolution, Ned has an overweight southern lawyer named Wallace Brady (guest-starred by Creator/LarryHagmann) at his side. The guy is not really outright evil, but opposes Lisa and greatly supports creationism, calling evolution a load of "Hollywood hooey", not to mention he's not afraid of manipulating the audience at the courtroom with a cute baby deer (Bambi apparently) by claiming evolution is what allowed humans to kill his mother, with the intent of siding people against Lisa.

%%* Played straight with another John Goodman one: Layton T. Montgomery from ''WesternAnimation/BeeMovie''. John Goodman seems to like that role.

** In "The Monkey Suit", during the trial against Lisa and evolution, Ned has an overweight southern lawyer named Wallace Brady (guest-starred by Larry Hagman) at his side. The guy is not really outright evil, but opposes Lisa and greatly supports creationism, calling evolution a load of "Hollywood hooey", not to mention he's not afraid of manipulating the audience at the courtroom with a cute baby deer (Bambi apparently) by claiming evolution is what allowed humans to kill his mother, with the intent of siding people against Lisa.