In Pop Culture
He has been referenced in the television shows Saturday Night Live and Family Guy and many films. An animated caricature of him made a cameo appearance in the JibJab political cartoon, Good to Be in D.C.
In 2004, he was featured in the documentary film Barbecue: A Texas Love Story by Austin-based director Chris Elley. Two years later, Rather and Elley educated a group of New Yorkers in Madison Square Park about the true meaning of BBQ and its significance to the identity of the Lone Star State. Rather began the discussion with a direct statement: "Let's get this straight folks. If it ain't beef and it ain't in Texas, then it ain't barbecue."
In the 2006–07 graphic novel Shooting War, which is set in the year 2011, an 80-year-old Dan Rather is shown to be one of the last journalists still reporting from Iraq.
Rather had a cameo in the premiere of the Fall 2007 drama Dirty Sexy Money on ABC television.
He guest-starred as himself in The Simpsons episode, "E Pluribus Wiggum".
Rather appeared on "The Daily Show" in May 2009 wearing an Afro wig and mutton-chop sideburns to narrate a segment about the late former President Nixon eating a burrito, as a parody of MSNBC's extensive coverage of President Obama and Vice President Biden's hamburger lunch.
Rather appears in the 2008 award-winning documentary Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story.
A character "Dano", a spot-on imitation of Rather, appears on the Brad and Britt morning show on WZTK radio, 101.1 FM, in Burlington, North Carolina. The show is heard weekday mornings. Features of the imitation include mentioning "I have the documents" whenever a dubious claim is made. Dano is also heard sometimes interviewing President Obama's teleprompter.
A skit on the 38th season of Sesame Street featured Anderson Cooper interviewing two grouches, one named "Walter Cranky" and one named "Dan Rather Not," who, when asked to answer questions, demurred with the phrase "I'd rather not."
Read more about this topic: Dan Rather
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