Billy Jack - Billy Jack in Popular Culture

Billy Jack in Popular Culture

• In 1975, musician Curtis Mayfield recorded and released a song titled, "Billy Jack" on his album There's No Place Like America Today.
• In 1976 musician Paul Simon played "Billy Paul" (a parody of Billy Jack, unrelated to musician Billy Paul) in a sketch on the second season of the NBC comedy show Saturday Night Live, after the film Billy Jack aired earlier that same evening on NBC.
• In 1982, a professional wrestler, Billy Jack Haynes, debuted as "Billy Jack" while wearing a hat like Billy Jack. He changed his wrestling name from "Billy Jack" to "Billy Jack Haynes" after Tom Laughlin threatened to sue him.
• In the series Mystery Science Theater 3000, at least two episodes make reference to Billy Jack: on the episode Werewolf, after a fight breaks out between a racist dig supervisor and his Indian help, Tom Servo says, "This is where Billy Jack should come riding up."; on the episode Track of the Moon Beast, after the Native American professor finishes telling a story, Crow says, "Uh huh...do you know Billy Jack?"
• In an episode of The Simpsons ("Bart of War"), Bart joins a Boy Scouts of America-like group called the "Pre-Teen Braves", and they engage in a rivalry with "the Cavalry Kids". A montage of the two groups fighting each other is set to Coven's version of One Tin Soldier.
• Billy Jack is also referenced in an episode of Gilmore Girls ("Red Light on the Wedding Night") while Lorelai and Rory are watching the movie in their living room. At the line "Billy Jack, I'm gonna kill you if it's the last thing I do!", Lorelai responds, "Ugh, he so jinxed himself with that one." Rory replies, "Yeah, he should've said 'Billy Jack, I'm gonna kill you or buy myself a lovely chenille sweater.'"
• Upon first meeting serial killer Cary Stayner—then considered a possible material witness to a 1999 murder in Yosemite National Park—FBI Agent Jeff Rinek asked if Stayner had ever seen the movie Billy Jack, noting Stayner's close resemblance to the film's hero. Initially, Stayner denied ever seeing the movie. However, 90 minutes later, after building a rapport during the drive to the FBI headquarters in Sacramento from the nudist resort where he had been picked up, Stayner surprised Rinek by reciting several of Billy Jack's lines.
• In the motion picture Major Payne, Damon Wayans as the title character references the iconic fight scene quote "Now, what I'm goin' do is take this right foot and I'm 'a put it 'cross the left side your face."
• In season three of the television series Sabrina The Teenage Witch, the school principal Mr. Kraft reveals that Billy Jack is his favourite film.
• Billy Jack was referenced by Jim Carrey in Yes Man.
• Metal band Goblin Cock have a song entitled "Ode to Billy Jack" on their 2009 album Come With Me if You Want to Live, which is a tribute to him.
• In the movie Drillbit Taylor, actor Owen Wilson references Billy Jack by saying to another cast mate "I am gonna Billy Jack your ass."
• In the episode of the animated show Pinky and the Brain, titled "Brainy Jack," Brain assumes the role of the titular Brainy Jack to trick a commune of hippies into helping him take over the world. Brain's wardrobe is a direct reference to Billy Jack, especially the hat with a beaded hat-band. Likewise, the song that Pinky sings in the episode is a parody of "One Tin Soldier."
• British electro band Relaxed Muscle (fronted by Jarvis Cocker, from Pulp) released a song called "Billy Jack" on their one and only album A Heavy Nite With... in 2003. It was also released as a single with a music video that featured Cocker (as his alter ego, Darren Spooner) in Western garb reminiscent of Billy Jack's trademark outfit.
• In the book "The Berlin Blues", a play by Drew Hayden Taylor, the character named Trailer references Billy Jack when he says on page 92, "No Cirque du Billy Jack?" when the plan for Ojibway World which was supposed to be opening up on the reserve falls through.
• Bill Maher referenced Billy Jack in a July 2012 blog post about fundamentalist Mormons.