George Coulam, founder and long-time owner of the Texas Renaissance Festival, discovered the eclectic lifestyle and hunting successor of the 2024 HBO documentary “Ren Faire” Wednesday morning at his home in Todd, Texas. He was 87 years old at the time. The investigation is still ongoing and the cause of death is not yet known.

The Todd Mission Police Department was dispatched Wednesday morning to the residence of Coulam near the Renaissance Music Festival. The Grimes County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Rangers were present for help. Kuram was pronounced dead by authorities upon arrival.

“For our Texas Renaissance family and friends, we feel very sad about George Coulam, the founder of the Texas Renaissance Festival,” the Texas Renaissance Festival wrote on social media. “For over 50 years, he has built a community that has become a precious tradition of several representing actors, staff and guests. Currently, we ask Mr. Curlum’s family and the extended Texas Renaissance Festival family to respect and privacy.”

The Grimes County District Court ordered the sale of the Texas Renaissance Festival less than two weeks and the death of Curran was less than two weeks, ending nearly two years of civil cases. In this decision, Judge Gary W. Shani of the 506th District Court also ordered Kuram to pay more than $23 million in damages to cover the attorney’s fees and currency lost by Ford buyers.

The lawsuit says Texas Stargate, Inc. , Royal Campground, Inc. and Texas RF, Inc. A group of RW Lands Inc. agreed to purchase festivals, properties and assets from Coulam for $60 million. The plaintiff claimed that Coulam and his associates did not provide the required documents for the sale and that the original owner failed to end the transaction by the date of the agreement. Kuram denied the charge.

Coulam founded the Texas Renaissance in 1974 and grew it into the largest gathering in the United States. In addition to the order to sell the court, Kuram also lost his post as mayor in early May as Todd's Todd's mission. He has been the town’s only mayor since its inception in 1982 until he lost re-election this year, with City Councilman Stephen Mensing sworn in.

The operation of the Texas Renaissance Music Festival is documented in the 2024 HBO documentary “Ren Faire,” which is notorious among locals, and then Coulam’s efforts searched for a successor to lead the festival, and the surrounding commercial affiliates compete with it. The three-episode run also includes Coulam’s dedicated online dating pursuit and details of his ruthless temperament surrounding his staff. The series ended before the recent civil lawsuit against Coulam, which ended in early May.

"Functionally, he's actually the king. He created a real-life fiefdom," series director and executive producer Lance Oppenheim told The 2018 series type In an interview before the series premiered. "The first thing he said to me was 'I used to play the king, but now I'm a horny old man. I want to find someone who can take care of the festival.' These are just things he's leaking from him.

Coulam has faced other legal troubles in recent years, including allegations of sexual harassment and unlawful firing. The festival filed a 2021 lawsuit filed by a former employee who claimed Coulam had screened through the "Sugar Daddy" website to promote his romantic life.