Pore Jud Is Daid - Cultural References

Cultural References

Oklahoma! has frequently been quoted or parodied in films, television and other media. The following list includes some of the more notable references.

Films

• The songs "Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'" and "Oklahoma!" were spoofed in the animated film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. One of the spoofs is the song "Uncle Fucka", which parodies the spelled-out O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A of the musical's title song. A similar spoof is heard in the musical Curtains, concerning the title song of the Oklahoma!-like musical performed within the show.
• In the film When Harry Met Sally..., Harry and Sally sing a karaoke version of "Surrey With the Fringe on Top".
• In the film Twister, Beltzer is heard singing the song "Oklahoma!" when he is introduced.
• In the film Dave, the title character sings the song "Oklahoma!"

Television

• In the The Simpsons episode "Milhouse of Sand and Fog", the character Milhouse imagines himself and Bart singing "The Farmer and the Cowman".
• Sesame Street featured Kermit the Frog as a director making the film "Oklahoma" and Forgetful Jones singing the title song from "Oklahoma!" but forgetting how it begings, trying "Aaaaaa-klahoma", "Eeeeee-klahoma" and "Iiiiii-klahoma". On episode 317 of The Muppet Show, Fozzie Bear, dressed as a cowboy, begins to sing "Oklahoma", but large Muppets dressed as Samurai warriors turn the number into a parody called "Yokohama". Ray Charles performed "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" on Sesame Street in 1977.
• In the Fawlty Towers episode "Gourmet Night", Polly serenades the guests with a rendition of "I Cain't Say No".
• In episode 9 of Band of Brothers, "Why We Fight" (2001), Captain Nixon mentions that Oklahoma! was still on Broadway, causing the soldiers to break out in song.
• On an episode of Friends, "The One Where Emma Cries", Chandler accidentally accepts a job in Tulsa, and his wife Monica says that she does not want to move to Oklahoma or see the musical Oklahoma! Chandler responds by listing the songs from the musical, and Monica asks whether he is telling her that he got a job in Oklahoma or that he is gay.
• In the December 31, 2008 episode of The Rachel Maddow Show, comedian Kent Jones sang "Minnesota" to the tune of "Oklahoma!".

Other media

• In the mid-1940s, radio comedian Fred Allen wrote parody lyrics to the tune of "Surrey With the Fringe on Top": "Union Suit with the Hinge on the Back." The parody was repeated on subsequent programs.
• The title song became the official state song of Oklahoma in 1953. (Oklahoma became a state on November 16, 1907.)
• In the song "Oklahoma, U.S.A." by The Kinks, on their album Muswell Hillbillies, the protagonist dreams of "riding in the surrey with the fringe on top".
• Uniform, Jerry Seinfeld's first Superman webisode commercial for American Express in 1998, featured a spoof of the musical, "Oh, Yes! Wyoming!"
• Truman Capote's 1958 novella Breakfast at Tiffany's is set in 1943; the protagonist, Holly Golightly sings music from Oklahoma! while accompanying herself on her guitar.