History UsefulNotes / LyndonJohnson

[[quoteright:290:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lbj2_5549.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:290:''"Being president is like being a jackass in a hailstorm. There's nothing to do but to stand there and take it."'']]

* In HBO's ''Film/PathToWar'' he is portrayed by Michael Gambon as a tragic hero whose noble and compassionate domestic goals end up being destroyed by the Vietnam War.

* Portrayed by Tom Wilkinson in ''Film/{{Selma}}'', though there's been significant controversy about whether the film exaggerates Johnson's tensions with Martin Luther King, Jr. and incremental approach to Civil Rights. In fairness, it does show Johnson siding with King at film's end, repudiating George Wallace, and moving forward with the Voting Rights Act.

-->--'''Lyndon Johnson'''

* Music/FrankZappa attacked Johnson's ''Great Society'' utopia on his album ''Music/FreakOut'', added an imitation of him during ''Plastic People'' on ''Music/AbsolutelyFree'' and Johnson is also featured twice as a cut-out on the album cover of ''Music/WereOnlyInItForTheMoney''. In a 1990 interview Zappa did say that his opinions about Johnson had changed over time. Whereas he felt the man ''blew it'' in the 1960s he came to see him in a more favorable light after all the far worse US presidents that followed.

Johnson grew up the oldest of five children in the desperately poor Hill Country of central Texas. His father, Samuel, came from a long line of farmers. Sam Johnson had big dreams of being a lawyer but never finished high school because of an illness and lack of money. He was able to get certified as a teacher and even served in the Texas state legislature at two different points [[note]] He served in his mid twenties but couldn’t afford to go back and forth to Austin so he didn’t run again and then he served a decade later during World War I when they needed someone to fill the seat when the representative got drafted[[/note]] but was held back from climbing further out of lack of a formal education. His mother, Rebekah, was from a family of Baptist ministers and had a college degree, a rarity at the time for a woman. She was a teacher as well. Both of his parents instilled a love pf learning and politics into him from a young age that stayed with him for the rest of his life.

Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials of LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States [[TheSixties (1963–69)]]. The [[ThirteenIsUnlucky thirteenth]] President from the Democratic Party, he inherited the office following the tragic assassination of the young and inspirational UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy and was followed by the [[SarcasmMode honest and lovable]] UsefulNotes/RichardNixon. He managed to be both incredibly good for his domestic reforms (legislation upholding civil rights, Medicare, Medicaid, aid to education, the arts, urban and rural development and public services) and horrendously bad for what he did abroad (escalating American involvement in the Vietnam War). Ultimately his foreign policy mistakes came to threaten or even negate his domestic achievements, to the chagrin of liberals throughout the USA who continue to fight for much of what Johnson fought for.

Johnson grew up the oldest of five children in the desperately poor Hill Country of central Texas. His father, Samuel, came from a long line of farmers. Sam Johnson had big dreams of being a lawyer but never finished high school because of an illness and lack of money. He was able to get certified as a teacher and even served in the Texas state legislature at two different points [[note]] He served in his mid twenties but couldn’t afford to go back and forth to Austin so he didn’t run again and then he served a decade later during World War I when they needed someone to fill the seat when the representative got drafted[[/note]] but was held back from climbing further out of lack of a formal education. His mother, Rebekah, was from a family of Baptist ministers and had a college degree, a rarity at the time for a woman. She was a teacher as well. Both of his parents instilled a love a learning and politics into him from a young age that stayed with him for the rest of his life.

By the time he graduated high school at 16, he applied to college but was rejected. He moved to California for a couple of years to work for an uncle to save money to go to college, reapplied and was accepted. He taught for a few years after graduating but after getting assigned to a desperately poor school for the children of Mexican migrant workers, decided his talents lay elsewhere and got a job working for his Congressman. He then served in state government and when the seat in Congress opened up, he ran and won in 1937. He was the first member of Congress to volunteer to fight in World War II and was stationed in the South Pacific. He was released from active duty in 1942 but stayed on as a member of the reserves until he was president.

Johnson was a [[BunnyEarsLawyer colorful figure]], whose rough-edged Texan demeanor contrasted strongly with Kennedy's elegant image. One incident had him exposing his appendicitis scar to the public; in another he picked up his pet beagle by the ears, assuring the onlookers, "He lahks it!" He had odd eating habits, eating quickly and, if someone near him hasn't finished eating yet, taking ''their'' food to eat, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. From his time in the Senate, he had a rather bullying and forceful personality when he wanted to make somebody come to his point of view. Perhaps his oddest habit was conducting meetings on the toilet (one of the best nonsexual examples of CoitusUninterruptus). Or maybe his oddest habit was pulling his penis - [[ICallHimMisterHappy named "Jumbo"]] - out in front of the White House Press Corps, and waving it around. Still, he sometimes had moments of sympathy that shocked those close to him: After he was sworn in on Air Force One, he called Kennedy's mother to try and comfort her. Satirical portrayals in media usually focused on playing up his Texan-ness to a comical degree. Oh, he was also a big fan of Music/SimonAndGarfunkel's ''Music/BridgeOverTroubledWater''.

* In ''Film/ForrestGump'', the title character moons President Johnson. In the book, Gump and Johnson were sharing the stories of their respective surgical scars -- Johnson from gallbladder surgery, Gump from being "wounded in the buttocks." A photographer just happened to walk by at the inopportune moment, and spun the story.

Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials of LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States [[TheSixties (1963–69)]]. The [[ThirteenIsUnlucky thirteenth]] President from the Democratic Party, he inherited the office following the tragic assassination of the young and inspirational UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy and was followed by the honest and lovable UsefulNotes/RichardNixon. He managed to be both incredibly good for his domestic reforms (legislation upholding civil rights, Medicare, Medicaid, aid to education, the arts, urban and rural development and public services) and horrendously bad for what he did abroad (escalating American involvement in the Vietnam War). Ultimately his foreign policy mistakes came to threaten or even negate his domestic achievements, to the chagrin of liberals throughout the USA who continue to fight for much of what Johnson fought for.

* He appears in the third season of ''[[Series/TheCrown2016 The Crown]]'', portrayed by Creator/ClancyBrown.

Johnson was a [[BunnyEarsLawyer colorful figure]], whose rough-edged Texan demeanor contrasted strongly with Kennedy's elegant image. One incident had him exposing his appendicitis scar to the public; in another he picked up his pet beagle by the ears, assuring the onlookers, "He lahks it!" He had odd eating habits, eating quickly and, if someone near him hasn't finished eating yet, taking ''their'' food to eat, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. From his time in the Senate, he had a rather bullying and forceful personality when he wanted to make somebody come to his point of view. Perhaps his oddest habit was conducting meetings on the toilet (Perhaps one of the best nonsexual examples of CoitusUninterruptus). Or maybe his oddest habit was pulling his penis - [[ICallHimMisterHappy named "Jumbo"]] - out in front of the White House Press Corps, and waving it around. Still, he sometimes had moments of sympathy that shocked those close to him: After he was sworn in on Air Force One, he called Kennedy's mother to try and comfort her. Satirical portrayals in media usually focused on playing up his Texan-ness to a comical degree. Oh, he was also a big fan of Music/SimonAndGarfunkel's ''Music/BridgeOverTroubledWater''.

* He appears in the third season of ''Series/TheCrown'', portrayed by Creator/ClancyBrown.

* Referenced in the ''Series/{{Batman}}'' episode "Dizzoner the Penguin". Both major parties ask Batman to run for President under their banner; Batman responds to the second call with "Don't you already have a candidate?", obviously referring to incumbent President Johnson. Became HarsherInHindsight and/or HilariousInHindsight a few years later when Johnson gave up on trying to win the Democratic nomination in 1968.

Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials of LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States [[TheSixties (1963–69)]]. The [[ThirteenIsUnlucky thirteenth]] President from the Democratic Party, he inherited the office following the tragic assassination of [[HopeSpot the young and inspirational]] UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy and was followed by the [[SarcasmMode honest and lovable]] UsefulNotes/RichardNixon. He managed to be both incredibly good for his domestic reforms (legislation upholding civil rights, Medicare, Medicaid, aid to education, the arts, urban and rural development and public services) and horrendously bad for what he did abroad (escalating American involvement in the Vietnam War). Ultimately his foreign policy mistakes came to threaten or even negate his domestic achievements, to the chagrin of liberals throughout the USA who continue to fight for much of what Johnson fought for.

* Unsurprisingly, Creator/OliverStone's Film/{{JFK}} [[HistoricalVillianUpgrade paints him as a supervillain]] who rubber-stamps the Vietnam War in order to get elected. The plot relies on the so-called "Wise Men", fourteen unofficial 'advisors' from the World Bank and other organizations who oversaw the war from start to finish, as the real leaders; Johnson is just a PuppetKing in the movie.

* Unsurprisingly, Creator/OliverStone's Film/{{JFK}} paints him as a supervillain who rubber-stamps the Vietnam War in order to get elected. The plot relies on the so-called "Wise Men", fourteen unofficial 'advisors' from the World Bank and other organizations who oversaw the war from start to finish, as the real leaders; Johnson is just a PuppetKing in the movie.

[[caption-width-right:290:''"Like a jackass in a hailstorm."'']]

* In ''Film/ForrestGump'' the title character moons Johnson. In the book, Gump and Johnson were sharing the stories of their respective surgical scars -- Johnson from gallbladder surgery, Gump from being "wounded in the buttocks." A photographer just happened to walk by at the inopportune moment, and spun the story.

* Referenced in the Series/{{Batman}} episode "Dizzoner the Penguin". Both major parties ask Batman to run for President under their banner; Batman responds to the second call with "Don't you already have a candidate?", obviously referring to incumbent President Johnson. Became HarsherInHindsight and/or HilariousInHindsight a few years later when Johnson gave up on trying to win the Democratic nomination in 1968.

* Referenced in the [[Series/{{Batman}}]] episode "Dizzoner the Penguin". Both major parties ask Batman to run for President under their banner; Batman responds to the second call with "Don't you already have a candidate?", obviously referring to incumbent President Johnson. Became HarsherInHindsight and/or HilariousInHindsight a few years later when Johnson gave up on trying to win the Democratic nomination in 1968.

Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973), often known by his initials of LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States [[TheSixties (1963–69)]]. The [[ThirteenIsUnlucky thirteenth]] President from the Democratic Party, he inherited the office following the tragic assassination of [[HopeSpot the young and inspirational]] UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy and was followed by the [[SarcasmMode honest and lovable]] UsefulNotes/RichardNixon. He managed to be both incredibly good for his domestic reforms (legislation upholding civil rights, Medicare, Medicaid, aid to education, the arts, urban and rural development and public services) and horrendously bad for what he did abroad (escalating American involvement in the Vietnam War). Ultimately his foreign policy mistakes came to threaten or even negate his domestic achievements, to the chagrin of liberals throughout the USA who continue to fight for much of what Johnson fought for.

Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973), often known as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States [[TheSixties (1963–69)]]. The [[ThirteenIsUnlucky thirteenth]] President from the Democratic Party, he inherited the office following the tragic assassination of [[HopeSpot the young and inspirational]] UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy and was followed by the [[SarcasmMode honest and lovable]] UsefulNotes/RichardNixon. He managed to be both incredibly good for his domestic reforms (legislation upholding civil rights, Medicare, Medicaid, aid to education, the arts, urban and rural development and public services) and horrendously bad for what he did abroad (escalating American involvement in the Vietnam War). Ultimately his foreign policy mistakes came to threaten or even negate his domestic achievements, to the chagrin of liberals throughout the USA who continue to fight for much of what Johnson fought for.

[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lbj2_5549.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:280:''"Like a jackass in a hailstorm."'']]