Texas Renaissance Festival’s ‘King George’ died by suicide, authorities confirm

The death of Texas Renaissance Festival founder George Coulam earlier this month made national news, as much for his complicated legacy as his auspicious end.

On Wednesday, authorities revealed that the theme-park titan — who insisted on being known as “King George” — died by his own hand, the Houston Chronicle reports, adding a new layer of intrigue. The 87-year-old’s death follows an avalanche of misfortune, including a court ruling requiring him to hand over the festival he helmed for decades and a loss in a local election after decades of unfettered dominion.

The Fort Bend County Medical Examiner’s Office has released Coulam’s remains to the Magnolia Funeral Home, according to the Chronicle.

The county’s suicide determination comes as little surprise to faire-goers and workers — the latter known as “rennies” — who watched scandal percolate up around Coulam’s East Texas fiefdom, considered the largest event of its kind. A recent HBO docu-series Ren Faire portrayed the faire founder as a larger-than-life megalomaniac.

When the Navasota Examiner first broke news of Coulam’s death last week, the paper reported that he’d died of an apparent gunshot wound, citing information on police scanners. Further, Grimes County Sheriff Donald Sowell told press the day Coulam’s body was discovered that no foul play was suspected and there was no threat to the public at large.

Coulam’s death followed days behind a court judgment requiring him to hand over the Texas Renaissance Festival to a group of buyers he’d allegedly snubbed after the parties reached a 2023 buyout deal valued at a $60 million. Coulam reportedly failed to honor the sale’s closing date, retaining his power until the judge’s ruling prised it from his fingers on May 8.

The judge also ordered “King George” to pay an additional $20 million in damages. Almost simultaneously, Coulam lost his bid for re-election as mayor of Todd Mission, a rural village he had incorporated and led for more than 40 years.

Online, rennies had few kind words to share about the passing of “King George.”

“George was not a ‘visionary,’ not a ‘leader,’ not a person with an ounce of compassion,” user David Casey posted in a Facebook group for former cast members of the Texas Renaissance Festival.

Casey’s post was widely shared by others in the ren faire circuit, indicating whether this monarch would be remembered as ‘The Great’ or ‘Terrible.’

King Lear died of a broken heart. Macbeth died at the hands of Macduff. But like many Shakespearean kings, George’s death seemed to harbor a deeper meaning, both about his own quest for power and to the itinerant faire community at large.

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This article appears in May 14-27, 2025.