Dudley J. LeBlanc (August 16, 1894 – October 22, 1971) was an American entrepreneur and politician. He created the

patent medicine A patent medicine (sometimes called a proprietary medicine) is a non-prescription medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name, and claimed to be effective against minor disorders a ...

Hadacol Hadacol was a patent medicine marketed as a vitamin supplement. Its principal attraction, however, was that it contained 12 percent alcohol (listed on the tonic bottle's label as a "preservative"), which made it quite popular in the dry counties o ...

and promoted it through the 'Hadacol Caravan' which featured major celebrities of the day including

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last survivi ...

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' att ...

Cesar Romero César Julio Romero Jr. (February 15, 1907 – January 1, 1994) was an American actor. He was active in film, radio, and television for almost 60 years. His wide range of screen roles included Latin lover (stereotype), Latin lovers, historical ...

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

, and many others. Williams began writing the song '

Jambalaya Jambalaya ( , ) is a savory rice dish that developed in the U.S. state of Louisiana fusing together African, Spanish, and French influences, consisting mainly of meat and/or seafood, and vegetables mixed with rice and spices. West Africans a ...

' while traveling on the Hadacol bus, listening to the Cajun conversation. Leblanc served in the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (; ) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 representatives, each of whom represents approximately 4 ...

from 1924 to 1928. In 1932 he ran for governor, losing to the

Huey Long Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "The Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination i ...

candidate Oscar K. Allen. He served in the

Louisiana Senate The Louisiana State Senate (; ) is the upper house of Louisiana’s legislature. Senators serve four-year terms and participate in various committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate has 39 members elected from single-member districts ...

from 1940 to 1944, 1948 to 1952, and 1964 to 1971. In his

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

campaign, one of Leblanc's plans was to pay a monthly stipend to the elderly. Huey Long subsequently adopted the idea in his nascent campaign for President.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

got the idea from Long, and it became the modern

Social Security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...

system. LeBlanc was a contestant on the 1 March 1951 edition of

You Bet Your Life ''You Bet Your Life'' is an American comedy quiz series that has aired on both radioposthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

inducted into the

Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame The Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame is a museum and hall of fame located in Winnfield, Louisiana. Created by a 1987 act of the Louisiana State Legislature, it honors the best-known politicians and political journalists in the state. ...

in 1993.

References

* William J. "Bill" Dodd, ''Peapatch Politics: The Earl Long Era in Louisiana Politics'', Baton Rouge: Claitor's Publishing, 1991 * Obituaries of Dudley J. LeBlanc, ''

Baton Rouge Morning Advocate ''The Advocate'' is Louisiana's largest daily newspaper. Based in Baton Rouge, it serves the southern portion of the state. Separate editions for New Orleans, '' The Times-Picayune The New Orleans Advocate'', for Shreveport and Bossier City, ...

'', October 23, 1971; ''

Lafayette Daily Advertiser ''The Daily Advertiser'' is a Gannett daily newspaper based in Lafayette, Louisiana. ''The Daily Advertiser'' covers international, national, state, and local news in the six parishes of Lafayette, Acadia, Iberia, St. Landry, St. Martin, an ...

''October 22, 1971; ''

New Orleans Times-Picayune ''The Times-Picayune , The New Orleans Advocate'' (commonly called ''The Times-Picayune'' or the ''T-P'') is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ancestral publications of other names date back to January 25, 1837. The cu ...

'', October 23, 1971 * https://web.archive.org/web/20060715210804/http://www.sec.state.la.us/archives/leblanc/leblanc-1.htm * Floyd Clay Martin, ''Coozan Dudley LeBlanc: From Huey Long to Hadacol'' * http://www.alibris.com/search/search.cfm?S=R&qwork=1336975&qsort=p&siteID=KLVmR9fE2yU-LcsUdqTmR6Odz.nkB9F.IA * http://www.acadian.org/leblanc.html * http://www.lpb.org/education/classroom/itv/serdesc.cfm?SerID=15 * M. M. Le Blanc, ''The True Story of the Acadians, 90th Anniversary Edition'', BizEntine Press. * M. M. Le Blanc, ''The Acadian Miracle, 50th Anniversary Edition'', BizEntine Press. {{DEFAULTSORT:LeBlanc, Dudley J. 1894 births 1971 deaths People from Abbeville, Louisiana People from Erath, Louisiana People from Youngsville, Louisiana Acadian history Businesspeople from Louisiana Cajun people Democratic Party Louisiana state senators Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Members of the Louisiana Public Service Commission Patent medicine businesspeople Politicians from Lafayette, Louisiana University of Louisiana at Lafayette alumni 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature