History UsefulNotes / FranciscoFranco

Generalissimo Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde (4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a dictator who ruled UsefulNotes/{{Spain}} from 1939 until his death. He came to power through the UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar, during which time he was supported by both UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini and UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler. He wisely chose to keep his distance from them, however, when the dress rehearsal ended and [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the big show]] began. Not to mention that, to the day he died, there were Republican Spanish strongholds that resisted him.

* In ''VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope'', an AlternateHistoryNaziVictory mod for ''VideoGame/HeartsOfIronIV'', Franco appears as a co-leader (along with UsefulNotes/AntonioDeOliveiraSalazar) of the Iberian Union, a union of Spain and Portugal that was formed in response to Nazi aggression.
* French satirical newspaper ''Charlie Hebdo'' mocked Franco's long agony with [[https://www.abebooks.fr/CHARLIE-HEBDO-N%C2%B0192-FRANCO-MIEUX-CIMETIERE/2089676213/bd a cover]] saying "Franco gets better -- he walked to the cemetery", illustrated by a drawing of a walking coffin.

* BodyDouble: In his second appearance on ''Series/TheMinistryOfTime'', the season 4 premiere, he employs at least two of them to corner a would-be murderer, and after they're done with him, he asks one of the doubles to [[MundaneUtility fill in for him on a reception]] while he goes hunting.
* EnemyMine: Despite his staunch anti-Communism, he developed a fairly cordial relationship with a certain UsefulNotes/FidelCastro. Both were descended from people from Galicia, were very socially conservative, were quite Christian in their own way each, had a significant anti-American streak[[note]]That did not stop either leader from allowing the United States to establish military presence within their respective countries later in their career.[[/note]] and disliked UsefulNotes/FulgencioBatista -- he once called for Franco's overthrow, and was of course Castro's ArchEnemy. There is also an element of EveryoneHasStandards here - Franco and Castro may have both been repressive dictators, but on issues to do with money and sex the evidence is that they were for the most part actually quite prim and straight-laced - completely the opposite of Batista in that respect. (Even today, Spain and Cuba are usually ranked among the least corrupt countries in Southern Europe and Latin America respectively). Furthermore, it is also alleged that Franco admired UsefulNotes/JosipBrozTito and Ho Chi Minh for their patriotism and self-sacrifice, and the regime even came to a reconciliation of sorts with the UsefulNotes/SovietUnion itself by the 1960's.

Generalissimo Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born 4 December 1892 - 20 November 1975) was a dictator who ruled UsefulNotes/{{Spain}} from 1939 until his death. He came to power through the UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar, during which time he was supported by both UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini and UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler. He wisely chose to keep his distance from them, however, when the dress rehearsal ended and [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the big show]] began. Not to mention that, to the day he died, there were Republican Spanish strongholds that resisted him.

Originally third in command of the Spanish rebels, Franco rose to power after his superiors, José Sanjurjo and Emilio Mola, died in a pair of rather convenient plane crashes. It is worth noting that, while he enjoyed support from fascists both abroad and within Spain (most notably the "proto-fascist" Falangists), Franco did not fully subscribe to the ideology, choosing to shun its revolutionary aspects in favor of Catholic traditionalism, earning him support from the monarchist factions and the Catholic Church itself and further cementing his power. In spite of the remaining similarities, and of popular perceptions that bunch the ideologies together, it's generally agreed that his personal approach differed enough from fascism to better receive the rather perfunctory name of [[ShapedLikeItself Francoism]].

After obtaining power, Franco brutally cracked down on political opponents to solidify his reign. The Blueshirts, his paramilitary secret police and equivalent to the Nazi ''Einsatzgruppen'' or SS, killed scores of people in Spain both on the streets and through means such as concentration camps. Unfortunately, any international scrutiny over these actions faded when the UsefulNotes/ColdWar began. This shift in international politics, combined with Franco's opposition to Spanish communists during the civil war and his neutrality in World War II, led to something of an EnemyMine situation with the Western world. NATO and the United States quietly supported his regime and turned blind eyes to his crimes, and Franco in turn moderated some of his stances and policies over the years to maintain their support.

At this point of his career, Franco was essentially an [[TheArtifact artifact]] of pre-WWII Europe that had earned a place in the Cold War chessboard through political maneuvering and sheer convenience. Shocking to modern readers might be the bare fact that he was literally a former friend of Hitler that had managed to become a friend of the Allies [[KarmaHoudini without actually making amends]] or even [[TheUnapologetic abandoning the core of his ideology]]. Those notions have generated entire books and a lot of debate, and are considered kind of a low point in western history.

Never a skilled orator, especially due to his funny voice and overly ceremonious discourse, Franco was better with the pen, being a decent writer who published books under different pseudonyms. He was also something of a film aficionado, and wrote the novel on which ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035241/ Raza]]'', a film set during the Spanish Civil War, was based. Author Daniel Kalder writes in ''The Infernal Library'' that Franco wept when he saw the movie, which holds credibility on the basis that, according to biographers, he was surprisingly ProneToTears in his personal life.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axByUFSa7N8 "Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead"]] was one of the first {{Catch Phrase}}s of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. On [[NewsParody "Weekend Update"]], Franco's continuing death was [[RunningGag repeatedly]] reported as "news" by Creator/ChevyChase. This was a parody of earlier real news coverage, which had constantly reported on Franco's declining health during slow news days, in particular NBC's own ''Series/{{Today}} Show''. The obvious joke was that ''Today'' had spent so much time assuring viewers he was ''about'' to die that it was only natural that it would spend equal time assuring viewers he was ''still'' dead, but the ''Today'' show's bizarre taping schedule added an extra layer to the joke.[[note]]Back then, ''Today'' was two hours long. It aired live in the Eastern and Central time zones, and one would presume it was tape-delayed for the Mountain and Pacific time zones to air an hour late. But what they actually did was air the second hour live across the country, then took the first hour from the East Coast and aired it as the "second" hour on the West Coast. Franco died in the middle of the program, so the West Coast feed that day had live coverage of his recent death, followed by tape-delayed coverage of his ''impending'' death -- causing the local news to break in live to explain to viewers that he was, in fact, dead. Still dead, at that. Chevy Chase's first report on the subject seemed to reference this incident, saying, "Despite Franco's death and expected burial tomorrow, Doctors say the dictator's health has taken a turn for the worse."[[/note]]
* Franco was referenced twice in ''Series/FawltyTowers''. In "Basil the Rat", Basil explains to the Barcelona-born waiter Manuel that a local "hamster" is in fact a rat. Under his breath, Creator/JohnCleese mutters: "You do have rats in Spain, or did Franco have 'em all shot?" In another episode, a hotel guest asks where the Generalissimo is (referring to Basil), to which Manuel incredulously replies, "In Madrid!"
* Monegasque singer-songwriter and anarchist Léo Ferré wrote "Franco la muerte" (1964). In this highly confrontational song, he directly shouts at the dictator and lavishes him with contempt. Ferré refused to sing in Spain until Franco was dead.

* Franco appeared in the classic Danish children's cartoon ''Cirkeline'' (1967–71) as a sneaky, evil cat, who wore black riding boots and loved to trap Spanish mice in cages. He was voiced by a popular folk singer, and had a great, creepy VillainSong: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6aunIcVuEA "I'm the sneakiest of cats"]].

Generalissimo Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born 4 December 1892 - 20 November 1975) was the dictator of Spain from 1939 until his death. He came to power during the UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar, during which time he was supported by both UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini and UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler. He wisely chose to keep his distance from them, however, when the dress rehearsal ended and [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the big show]] began. Not to mention that, to the day he died, there were Republican Spanish strongholds that resisted him.

* EnemyMine: Despite his staunch anti-Communism, he developed a fairly cordial relationship with a certain UsefulNotes/FidelCastro. Both were descended from people from Galicia, were very socially conservative, were quite Christian in their own way each, had a significant anti-American streak[[note]]That did not stop either leader from allowing the United States to establish military presence within their respective countries later in their career.[[/note]] and disliked UsefulNotes/FulgencioBatista -- he once called for Franco's overthrow, and was of course Castro's ArchEnemy. Furthermore, it is also alleged that Franco admired UsefulNotes/JosipBrozTito and Ho Chi Minh for their patriotism and self-sacrifice, and the regime even came to a reconciliation of sorts with the UsefulNotes/SovietUnion itself by the 1960's.

At this point of his career, Franco was essentially an [[TheArtifact artifact]] of pre-WWII Europe that had earned a place in the Cold War chessboard through political maneuvering and sheer convenience. Shocking to modern readers might be the bare fact that he was literally [[KarmaHoudini a former friend of Hitler that had managed to become a friend of the Allies]] [[ without actually abandoning the core of his ideology]]. Those notions have generated entire books and a lot of debate, and are considered kind of a low point in western history.

At this point of his career, Franco was essentially an [[TheArtifact artifact]] of pre-WWII Europe that had earned a place in the Cold War chessboard by political maneuvering and sheer convenience. Shocking to modern readers might be the bare fact that he was literally a former friend of Hitler that had managed to become a friend of the Allies without actually abandoning the core of his ideology. Those notions have generated entire books and a lot of debate.

Franco, something of a film aficionado, wrote the novel on which ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035241/ Raza]]'', a film set during the Spanish Civil War, was based. He published it under the pseudonym Jaime de Andrade. Author Daniel Kalder writes in ''The Infernal Library'' that Franco wept when he saw the movie, which holds credibility on the basis that, according to biographers, he was surprisingly ProneToTears in his personal life.

Originally third in command of the Spanish rebels, Franco rose to power after his superiors, José Sanjurjo y Emilio Mola, died in a pair of rather convenient plane crashes. It is worth noting that, while he enjoyed support from fascists both abroad and within Spain (most notably the "proto-fascist" Falangists), Franco did not fully subscribe to the ideology, choosing to shun its revolutionary aspects in favor of Catholic traditionalism, earning him support from the monarchist factions and the Catholic Church itself and further cementing his power. In spite of the remaining similarities, and of popular perceptions that bunch the ideologies together, it's generally agreed that his personal approach differed enough from fascism to better receive the rather perfunctory name of [[ShapedLikeItself Francoism]].

-->'''Chevy Chase:''' Our top story tonight: Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.

[[caption-width-right:300:"Wait...I'm ''still'' dead?"]]

Generalissimo Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born 4 December 1892; dead 20 November 1975 – present) was dictator of Spain from 1939 until his death. He came to power during the UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar, during which time he was supported by both UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini and UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler. He wisely chose to keep his distance from them, however, when the dress rehearsal ended and [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the big show]] began. Not to mention that, to the day he died, there were Republican Spanish strongholds that resisted him.

* RebelLeader: He led a military uprising against the Second Spanish Republic in 1936.

* EnemyMine: Despite his staunch anti-Communism, he developed a fairly cordial relationship with a certain UsefulNotes/FidelCastro. Both were descended from people from Galicia, were very socially conservative, were quite Christian in their own way each, had a significant anti-American streak and disliked UsefulNotes/FulgencioBatista -- he once called for Franco's overthrow, and was of course Castro's ArchEnemy. Furthermore, it is also alleged that Franco admired UsefulNotes/JosipBrozTito and Ho Chi Minh for their patriotism and self-sacrifice, and the regime even came to a reconciliation of sorts with the UsefulNotes/SovietUnion itself by the 1960's.

Generalissimo Francisco Franco Bahamonde (lived 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975; dead 20 November 1975 – present) was dictator of Spain from 1939 until his death. He came to power during the UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar, during which time he was supported by both UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini and UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler. He wisely chose to keep his distance from them, however, when the dress rehearsal ended and [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the big show]] began. Not to mention that, to the day he died, there were Republican Spanish strongholds that resisted him.

Generalissimo Francisco Franco Bahamonde (4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was dictator of Spain from 1939 until his death. He came to power during the UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar, during which time he was supported by both UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini and UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler. He wisely chose to keep his distance from them, however, when the dress rehearsal ended and [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the big show]] began. Not to mention that, to the day he died, there were Republican Spanish strongholds that resisted him.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axByUFSa7N8 "Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead"]] was one of the first {{Catch Phrase}}s of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. On [[NewsParody "Weekend Update"]], Franco's continuing death was [[RunningGag repeatedly]] reported as "news" by Creator/ChevyChase. This was a parody of earlier real news coverage, which had constantly reported on Franco's declining health during slow news days, in particular NBC's own ''Series/{{Today}} Show''. The obvious joke was that ''Today'' had spent so much time assuring viewers he was ''about'' to die that it was only natural that it would spend equal time assuring viewers he was ''still'' dead, but the ''Today'' show's bizarre taping schedule added an extra layer to the joke.[[note]]Back then, ''Today'' was two hours long. It aired live in the Eastern and Central time zones, and one would presume it was tape-delayed for the Mountain and Pacific time zones to air an hour late. But what they actually did was air the second hour live across the country, then took the first hour from the East Coast and aired it as the "second" hour on the West Coast. Franco died in the middle of the program, so the West Coast feed that day had live coverage of his recent death, followed by tape-delayed coverage of his ''impending'' death -- causing the local news to break in live to explain to viewers that he was, in fact, dead. Still dead, at that.[[/note]]

Originally third in command of the Spanish rebels, Franco rose to power after his superiors, José Sanjurjo y Emilio Mola, died in a pair of rather convenient plane crashes. It is worth noting that, while he enjoyed support from fascists both abroad and within Spain (most notably the "proto-fascist" Falangists), Franco did not fully subscribe to the ideology, choosing to shun its revolutionary aspects in favor of Catholic traditionalism, earning him support from the monarchist factions and the Catholic Church itself, further cementing his power.

Franco, something of a film aficionado, wrote the novel on which ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035241/ Raza]]'', a film set during the Spanish Civil War, was based. He published it under the pseudonym Jaime de Andrade. Author Daniel Kalder writes in ''The Infernal Library'' that Franco wept when he saw the movie.

* EnemyMine: Despite his staunch anti-Communism, he developed a fairly cordial relationship with a certain UsefulNotes/FidelCastro. Both were descended from people from Galicia, were very socially conservative, had a significant anti-American streak and disliked UsefulNotes/FulgencioBatista -- he once called for Franco's overthrow, and was of course Castro's ArchEnemy. Furthermore, it is also alleged that Franco admired UsefulNotes/JosipBrozTito and Ho Chi Minh for their patriotism and self-sacrifice, and the regime even came to a reconciliation of sorts with the UsefulNotes/SovietUnion itself by the 1960's.

Franco, something of a film aficionado, wrote the novel on which ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035241/ Raza]]'', a film set during the Spanish Civil War, was based. He published it under the pseudonym Jaime de Andrade. Author Daniel Kalder writes in ''The Infernal Library'' that Franco wept ManlyTears when he saw the movie.

He died relatively peacefully in 1975, after which King Juan Carlos I, previously assumed to be Franco's protégé, dismantled the regime and restored Spain's constitutional monarchy via a 1978 referendum. Three years later, supporters of Franco raided the Spanish parliament in a bid to restore the Falangist dictatorship, but the coup quickly fizzled out after the king denounced it on national television. In 2019, Franco's body was moved from his gargantuan Valley of the Fallen mausoleum to a private family gravesite.

Originally third in command of the Spanish rebels, Franco rose to power after his superiors died in a pair of rather convenient plane crashes. It is worth noting that, while he enjoyed support from fascists both abroad and within Spain (most notably the "proto-fascist" Falangists), Franco did not fully subscribe to the ideology, choosing to shun its revolutionary aspects in favor of Catholic traditionalism, earning him support from the monarchist factions and the Catholic Church itself, further cementing his power.

As of 2022, he [[Series/SaturdayNightLive is still dead.]]

* EnemyMine: Despite his staunch anti-Communism, he developed a fairly cordial relationship with a certain UsefulNotes/FidelCastro. Both were descended from people from Galicia, were very socially conservative, had a significant anti-American streak and disliked UsefulNotes/FulgencioBatista -- he once called for Franco's overthrow, and was of course Castro's ArchEnemy. Furthermore, it is also alleged that Franco admired UsefulNotes/JosepBrozTito and UsefulNotes/HoChiMinh for their patriotism and self-sacrifice, and the regime even came to a reconciliation of sorts with the UsefulNotes/SovietUnion itself by the 1960's.

* EnemyMine: Despite his staunch anti-Communism, he developed a fairly cordial relationship with a certain UsefulNotes/FidelCastro. Both were descended from people from Galicia, were very socially conservative, had a significant anti-American streak and disliked UsefulNotes/FulgencioBatista -- he once called for Franco's overthrow, and was of course Castro's ArchEnemy.

Generalissimo Francisco Franco Bahamonde (4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was dictator of Spain from 1939 until his death. He came to power during the UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar, during which time he was supported by both UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini and UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler. He wisely chose to keep his distance from them, however, when the dress rehearsal ended and [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the big show]] began. Not to mention that, to the day he died, there were Republican Spanish strongholds that would resist him.

After obtaining power, Franco brutally cracked down on political opponents to solidify his reign. The Blueshirts, his paramilitary secret police and equivalent to the Nazi ''Einsatzgruppen'' or SS, killed scores of people in Spain both on the streets and through means such as concentration camps. Unfortunately, any international scrutiny over these actions faded when the UsefulNotes/ColdWar began. This shift in international politics, combined with Franco's opposition to Spanish communists during the civil war and his neutrality in World War II, led to something of an EnemyMine situation with the Western world. NATO and the United States quietly supported his regime and turned blind eyes to his crimes, and Franco in turn moderated some of his stances and policies over the years in order to maintain their support.

He died relatively peacefully in 1975, after which King Juan Carlos I, previously assumed to be Franco's protégé, dismantled the regime and restored the constitutional monarchy in Spain via a 1978 referendum. Three years later, supporters of Franco raided the Spanish parliament in a bid to restore the Falangist dictatorship, but the coup quickly fizzled out after the king denounced it on national television. In 2019, Franco's body was moved from his gargantuan Valley of the Fallen mausoleum to a private family gravesite.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axByUFSa7N8 "Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead"]] was one of the first {{Catch Phrase}}s of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. On [[NewsParody "Weekend Update"]], Franco's continuing death was [[RunningGag repeatedly]] reported as "news" by Creator/ChevyChase. This was a parody of earlier real news coverage, which had constantly reported on Franco's declining health during slow news days, in particular NBC's own ''Series/{{Today}} Show''. The obvious joke was that ''Today'' had spent so much time assuring viewers he was ''about'' to die that it was only natural that it would spend equal time assuring viewers he was ''still'' dead, but the ''Today'' show's bizarre taping schedule added an extra layer to the joke.[[note]]Back then, ''Today'' was two hours long. It aired live in the Eastern and Central time zones, and one would presume it was tape-delayed for the Mountain and Pacific time zones to air an hour late. But what they actually did was air the second hour live across the country, then took the first hour from the East Coast and aired it as the "second" hour on the West Coast. Franco died in the middle of the program, so the West Coast feed that day had live coverage of his recent death, followed by tape-delayed coverage of his ''impending'' death -- causing the local news to break in live to explain to viewers that he was, in fact, dead. Still dead, even.[[/note]]
* Franco was referenced twice in ''Series/FawltyTowers''. In "Basil the Rat", Basil explains to the Barcelona-born waiter Manuel that a local "hamster" is in fact a rat. Under his breath, Cleese mutters: "You do have rats in Spain, or did Franco have 'em all shot?" In another episode, a hotel guest asks where the Generalissimo is (referring to Basil), to which Manuel incredulously replies, "In Madrid!"

* In the ''Dreamhounds of Paris'' campaign frame for ''TabletopGame/TrailOfCthulhu'', from 1936 on, a sea squirt-like monster becomes the dominant creature of the Underground Sea in the Dreamlands. With searching tendrils it tries to snatch up anyone passing the shores of the lake. Anyone who knows earthly politics intuitively associates the creature with Francisco Franco, as envisioned by one of Creator/PabloPicasso's surrealist protest poems.

* EnemyMine: Despite his staunch anti-Communism, he developed a fairly cordial relationship with a certain UsefulNotes/FidelCastro. Both had their origins in Galicia, were very socially conservative, had a significant anti-American streak and disliked UsefulNotes/FulgencioBatista -- he once called for Franco's overthrow, and was of course Castro's ArchEnemy.
* TheGeneralissimo: His ceremonial title as head of the armed forces for Nationalist Spain. Interestingly, while many during his lifetime and after his death referred to him as such, this was actually not the official title of head of state during his reign. He styled the office of 'El Caudillo', an equivalent rank to Mussolini's 'Il Duce' or Hitler's 'Der Führer'. The title already had negative connotations applied to it in Latin America and elsewhere, connotations which Franco would cement during his rule as he wore the title proudly at home, which is why its usage was downplayed in the West. After all, it was easier to stomach working with a run-of-the-mill military dictator than a remnant of Fascism.

Generalissimo Francisco Franco Bahamonde (4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was dictator of Spain from 1939 until his death. He came to power during the UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar, during which time he was supported by both UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini and UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler. He wisely chose to keep his distance from them, however, when the dress rehearsal ended and [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the big show]] began. Not to mention that, to the day he died, there were Republican Spanish strongholds that would resist him.

Originally third in command of the Spanish rebels, Franco rose to power after his superiors died in a pair of rather convenient plane crashes. It is worth noting that, while he enjoyed support from fascists both abroad and within Spain (most notably the "proto-fascist" Falangists), Franco did not fully subscribe to the ideology, choosing to shun its revolutionary aspects in favor of Catholic traditionalism, earning him support from the monarchist factions and the Catholic Church itself, further cementing his power.

After obtaining power, Franco brutally cracked down on political opponents to solidify his reign. The Blueshirts, his paramilitary secret police and equivalent to the Nazi Einsatzgruppen or SS, killed scores of people in Spain both on the streets and through means such as concentration camps. Unfortunately, any international scrutiny over these actions faded when UsefulNotes/ColdWar began. This shift in international politics, combined with Franco's opposition to Spanish communists during the civil war and his neutrality in World War II, led to something of an EnemyMine situation with the western world. NATO and the United States quietly supported his regime and looked to other way in regards to his crimes, and Franco in turn moderated some of his stances and policies over the years in order to maintain their support.

Franco was something of a film aficionado, and wrote the screenplay for ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035241/ Raza]]'', a film set during the UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar.

Probably not related to [[Creator/DaveFranco Dave]] or [[Creator/JamesFranco James]].

* In the fanfic ''Fanfic/SisterFloriana'' Franco is strongly supported by the main characters, who see him as their defender against the Red Terror. Him and the Nationalist Army are consistently blessed and prayed for.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axByUFSa7N8 "Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead"]] was one of the first {{Catch Phrase}}s of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. On [[NewsParody "Weekend Update"]], Franco's continuing death was [[RunningGag repeatedly]] reported as "news" by Creator/ChevyChase. This was a parody of earlier real news coverage, which had constantly reported on Franco's declining health during slow news days, in particular NBC's own ''Series/{{Today}} Show''. The obvious joke was that ''Today'' had spent so much time assuring viewers he was ''about'' to die that it was only natural that it would spend equal time assuring viewers he was ''still'' dead, but the ''Today'' show's bizarre taping schedule added an extra layer to the joke[[note]]Back then, ''Today'' was two hours long. It aired live in the Eastern and Central time zones, and one would presume it was tape-delayed for the Mountain and Pacific time zones to air an hour late. But what they actually did was air the second hour live across the country, then took the first hour from the East Coast and aired it as the "second" hour on the West Coast. Franco died in the middle of the program, so the West Coast feed that day had live coverage of his recent death, followed by tape-delayed coverage of his ''impending'' death -- causing the local news to break in live to explain to viewers that he was, in fact, dead. Still dead, even[[/note]].

* Franco appeared in the classic Danish children's cartoon ''Cirkeline'' (1967-71) as a sneaky, evil cat, who wore black riding boots and loved to trap Spanish mice in cages. He was voiced by a popular folk singer, and had a great, creepy VillainSong: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6aunIcVuEA "I'm the sneakiest of cats"]].
* In ''VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope'', an AlternateHistoryNaziVictory mod for ''VideoGame/HeartsOfIronIV'', Franco appears as a co-leader (along with UsefulNotes/AntonioDeOliveiraSalazar) of the Iberian Union, a union of Spain and Portugal that was formed in response to Nazi aggression.

* EnemyMine: Despite his staunch anti-Communism, he developed a fairly cordial relationship with a certain UsefulNotes/FidelCastro - they both had their origins in Galicia, were very socially conservative, had a significant anti-American streak and disliked UsefulNotes/FulgencioBatista - he once called for Franco's overthrow, and was of course Castro's main enemy.
* TheGeneralissimo: His ceremonial title as head of the armed forces for Nationalist Spain. Interestingly, while many during his lifetime and after his death referred to him as such, this was actually not the official title of head of state during his reign. He styled the office of 'El Caudillo', an equivalent rank to Mussolini's 'Il Duce' or Hitler's 'Der Furher'. The title already had negative connotations applied to it in Latin America and elsewhere, connotations which Franco would cement during his rule as he wore the title proudly at home, which is why its usage was downplayed in the West. After all, it was easier to stomach working with a run of the mill military dictator than a remnant of Fascism.
* GreaterScopeParagon: In the fanfic ''Fanfic/SisterFloriana'' he is blessed and praised by the inhabitants of the Cristo el Rey Monastery, as their noble defender against the Red Terror.

* NotQuiteDead: In 1975 Franco fell ill and for quite some weeks there was a lot of media buzz that he was dying. Spanish officials denied the story for a long time, but eventually they had to admit the undeniable. The rumors led to a RunningGag in ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'''s "Weekend Update" sketches, [[https://youtu.be/BjRqj_STFFM?t=5 particularly when]] Creator/ChevyChase was the anchor.

He died relatively peacefully in 1975. In 2019 his body was moved from his gargantuan Valley of the Fallen mausoleum to a private family gravesite.

* NotQuiteDead: In 1975 Franco fell ill and for quite some weeks there was a lot of media buzz that he was dying. Spanish officials denied the story for a long time, but eventually they had to admit the undeniable. The rumors led to a RunningGag in ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''.

He died relatively peacefully in 1975. In 2019 his body was moved from his gargantuan Valley of the Fallen mausoleum to a private family gravesite. As of 2021, he [[Series/SaturdayNightLive is still dead.]]

* In ''VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope'', an AlternateHistoryNaziVictory mod for ''VideoGame/HeartsOfIronIV'', Franco appears as a co-leader (along with UsefulNotes/AntonioDeOliveiraSalazar) of the Iberian Union, the united nation of Spain and Portugal that was formed in response to the Nazi aggression.

* BodyDouble: In his second appearance on ''Series/TheMinistryOfTime'', the season 4 premiere, he employs at least two of them to corner a would-be murderer, and after they're done with him, he asks one of the doubles to fill in for him on a reception while he goes hunting.

* TheGeneralissimo: His ceremonial title, as Head of State. (Despite adopting in 1938 the five-star position of Captain-General by being the leader of all troops in Spain, his uniform always carried [[http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/5495316-3x2-940x627.jpg the four-star insignia of an Army General]].)

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axByUFSa7N8 "Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead"]] was one of the first {{Catch Phrase}}s of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive''. On [[NewsParody "Weekend Update"]], Franco's continuing death was [[RunningGag repeatedly]] reported as "news" by Creator/ChevyChase. This was a parody of earlier real news coverage, which had constantly reported on Franco's declining health during slow news days, in particular NBC's own ''Series/{{Today}} Show'': At the time, ''Today'' was only (only!) two hours long with the entire show airing live in the Eastern and Central time zones, while the Mountain and Pacific zones aired the second hour live as their *first* hour with the original first hour aired from tape in the second hour (Confused yet?), with live news breaks throughout. On the day Franco did die, the West Coast news breaks had to explain he was "still dead" as the main program taped in New York hours earlier discussed his pending death.

* French satirical newspaper ''Charlie Hebdo'' mocked Franco's long agony with [[https://www.abebooks.fr/CHARLIE-HEBDO-N%C2%B0192-FRANCO-MIEUX-CIMETIERE/2089676213/bd a cover]] saying "Franco gets better -- he walked to the cemetary", illustrated by a drawing of a walking coffin.