Clint Murchison, Sr. Steven Barclay: The Murchison Mansion: All the Vice President's Men "My God, they are going to kill us all" Lit Crit: The National Archives: The Strand Bookstore: Howard Nemerov: Poet Laureate Consulate in Poetry to the Library of Congress, 1963-64: The New Frontier: The Internet: New Orleans, Louisiana: Marfa, Lannan . In 1937, Franklin Roosevelt began his second term with a rare political miscalculation. me again - that's no threat - that's a promise.'". had this deep voice and he said, 'after tomorrow those S.O.B. - he was so involved with some of this," said Brown. His own vice president, Texan John Nance Garner, thought the court-packing plan was a rancid proposal. And he has done well by her. He was 63 years old. But Burk would not see his 12th birthday. proceedings, related to illegal kickbacks Johnson was receiving from agriculture assassination are often ignored by the media who prefer to keep the debate focused Clint . So now that you know the back story, why not make yourself at home here and add your own chapter? Roosevelt, who had been stricken with polio 15 years earlier, feared a fire at sea. He began the Texas trip on a typically upbeat note, saying, I havent a care in the world, which is some going for a president who is said by newspapers to be a remorseless dictator driving his country into hopeless bankruptcy.. And when Lupe died in July 2001, at age 75, everything stood ready for the auction block. to arrange call girls, drugs, gambling fixes and even contract killings. Johnson as his running mate, where H.L. Richardson, who would never marry, had lost several small fortunes trying to drill his way to a large one. But do it fastthe deadline is Nov. 25. Journalists defined the two men by their fortunes, but their unshakeable loyalty to each other was forged by their misfortunes. ''I`m stunned,'' she murmured, ''I`m just stunned. Fish & Wildlife Service and Felipe Prieto with the Matagorda Island Unit of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. programs before the assassination, were mysteriously set-up in homosexual scandals Fish . Where Cedar Bayou separates San Jose from Matagorda, the cars forded the trickle of water onto Murchisons island. In the beginning, things were a little wildanimals were. What he found was his second wife, Ruth, and rich locals like Richardson and Amon Carter eager to help out the son of the president. The Potomac was geared for sedate voyaging, noted Elliott Roosevelt. Through the influence of LBJ, he got off on a suspended five-year sentence. Sailors in their tropical whites and black, knotted neckerchiefs stood at the side rail and guided Richardsons big mahogany cabin cruiser, the Saltaire, to the four-step side stair. Recently, while living in Lupes home, Hall started a new series of sculptures. Her first book, "THE MURCHISONS: The Rise and Fall of a Texas Dynasty," was published in 1989. Still in need of cash, Murchison sold everything else--for something less than $500,000--to Dallas auctioneer S. Norman Garrett. "Young Goodman Brown"). He had received a list of oilmen who had contributed to the Democratic National Committee in 1935. Clint Murchison Sr., born in 1895, was the son of a banker, John Weldon Murchison, owner of the First National Bank of Athens, Texas. spinned and whitewashed). "I said my God what has happened Lou?" . blessed event that was to happen the next day and to create an, day on the stump for the sole purpose of attending this party so. His . from 1909 to 1913, died March 8, 1930. stung me that he would be this involved in knowing where the President of the But medium-priced art in the $1,000 to $10,000 range is not doing well.. Adjusted for inflation, this is the equivalent of $1 . Lyndon Johnson and in fact was just as smitten with him as on the first day 1. Roosevelt exploded: What in the world Sid, do you mean youre going to roll me down that bull chute?, Why, Mr. President, Sid said with a smile, youre the biggest bull that ever went down that chute.. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Email: editor@lookingglassnews.org. A gallery-like veranda ran along the perimeter. Mae told Stew Webb that Richard Nixon was one of the people who came to the party the night after the assassination! Hunt) and H.L. At least 500 buttons and switches, arranged in two drawers and on two panels, controlled everything, from a 35 mm. But the names of the men getting rich from it would remain virtually unknown to most Americans for many years. More stable financially, Murchison purchased the lower 9 miles of Matagorda Island. One feature that most of the potential bidders didn`t see was the elaborate audio-video security-lighting-drapery system that Murchison had installed. Upon entering a hair salon she saw the news that Kennedy of the United States on Air Force One while the grief-stricken Jackie Kennedy The Potomac was, in fact, a Coast Guard patrol boat, the former Electra, which had been refitted at no great expense for Fathers use, Elliott recalled. Apparently, at least. Clint Murchison, Sr. On May 1, Roosevelt was on deck when the destroyer USS Moffett steamed between the jetties at Aransas Pass and delivered the president to his yacht, the USS Potomac, which was anchored in the bay on the lee side of San Jose Island. said Brown. The president came ashore exactly once. When he. "And he said 'well they just shot that S.O.B'" to arrange call girls, drugs, gambling fixes and even contract killings. Murchison's contribution to the anti-Tydings campaign was just the beginning of his generosity to McCarthy; he donated . of the assassination, telling her the Irish mafia (meaning the Kennedy family) In 1917 he joined the United States Army and during the First World War he became a first lieutenant. Among his companies was the Southern Union Company. Allred with a tall, scarecrow-thin Lyndon Johnson. After the meeting, the governor dispatched a message to Lyndon Johnson. What they saw left them less than impressed. John Werner: Murchison's risk paid off with Cowboys. Helen Frankenthaler, Blue Head On 1965, Migration, 1968, Nancy Graves, Pacific Ocean Floor II, 1972, Theodore Stamos, High Snow, Low Sun, 1957, 750 North St.Paul St. "We were playing poker at the Carousel Club and Jack Ruby came over and the conference to tell his mistress Madeleine Duncan Brown that "those Allan Richards, the chief decorator at Neiman Marcus, came from Dallas and filled the place with comfortable, nautical furniture. That was before she discovered the dead ''waterbug''--a huge, brown and extremely sturdy species of cockroach--by the full-length windows overlooking the atrium and statuary. Now, Lyndon, of course its a bunch of [expletive], this plan, former state Sen. Alvin Wirtz advised him, but if youll flow with it, Roosevelts friends will support you.. And it was at the Murchison mansion, just before Kennedy's trip to Dallas in 1963, where the fate of both LBJ and JFK would eventually be decided. President Roosevelt (left) shakes hands with newly elected congressman Lyndon B. Johnson (right) as Gov. No spam, ever. McCarthy/Staff Photographer). And in 1933, the quiet, 5-foot-6 Murchison began a series of purchases to secure 9 miles of Matagorda, where he built a ranch and a sprawling home to host his friends. He was interested in defending and upholding the private enterprise system, particularly for the oil and gas industry. Photography by Allie Beth Allman & Associates/Christies International Real Estate. "They had this lodge.outside of Dallas and they would meet there.he assassination are often ignored by the media who prefer to keep the debate focused The benediction continued when the president invited LBJ to ride with him in his private railcar to College Station. But John and Lupes taste in art proved auspicious. Then he jumped to his death. Lupes son, John Jr., did not go to the house to take a look, but his wife Lisa did, as did Lupes daughters, Mary Noel Lamont and Barbara Jeanne Coffman. Jane Wolfe is the author of two previous biographies and one that will be published in September, 2022. I guess we`re going to be selling a little romance this weekend.''. But Ron Hall finally stood up for her and refused to donate the Larry Rivers painting. He suffers from a degenerative nerve disease and is confined to a wheelchair. off to have a haircut. She lives in the neighborhood. Clint Murchison in 1933 began a series of purchases of the lower nine miles of Matagorda Island, where he built a ranch and a sprawling home. Once Hall had his arms around the collection, the first wave of buyers came through. ''Something about a person`s residence makes it more appealing. back at a quickly-smiling LBJ as he is being sworn in to be the next President (Courtesy Murchison Collection). But as soon as Roosevelt reached D.C., Tommy the Cork got a call. Then came the real work: finding buyers outside the family who could afford the pieces. She became his patron. The party began to wind down at around 11 o' clock when the attendees were ''It`s too sad,'' she said. Richardsons first meeting with the president was brief and pleasant. love and informs you that you should now be independent enough to, these questions without his help- Hide quoted text -, From http://home.comcast.net/~dperry1943/browns.html, Fromhttp://home.comcast.net/~dperry1943/browns.html. After Clint Sr. died, Clint Jr. and his brother took over the family. When Richardson learned from Elliott that the president would be fishing near Aransas, he suggested that FDR visit his and Murchisons two islands. Though Brown first went public on her 21-year relationship with Johnson in Convention, at which John F. Kennedy was elected as presidential candidate with STATE: 26,000 acres. The Murchison estate also included what the family called the "Big House," a 22,000-square-foot mansion that Clint Sr. built and which Lupe abandoned in 1998, when she completed her house. Those present at the event included J. Edgar Hoover, The Murchison/Wynne home on Matagorda Island is now part of a wildlife refuge. a Texas Dynasty. Leaving the dock, Richardson led the small presidential motorcade of vehicles down the dusty center road of San Jose while turkeys, jackrabbits and cattle scattered. this article and the video clip contained therein will help to bring more attention mapped out a strategy to kill Kennedy. to John Currington (an aide to H.L. the world's media watching over 40 years ago - what would stop the same lineage and I looked up.he had this motorcade route.it in 1960 - when H.L. Some guests excused themselves to freshen and change for lunch. For the next 50 years, the grass-covered sandbars occupied a rarefied space at or near the epicenter of American power. Eleanor Parker passed by. about two years prior to the assassination of John Kennedy.". Aikman's last purchase was an 11,000-square-foot Mount Vernon manse built by Tatum Brown on Normandy that is just incredible inside and out, with beautiful landscaping by Harold Leidner. the early 80's, to this day her shocking revelations about how he had told her Murchison was probably in the top five. Those present at the. Johnson was still irate when he called Madeleine Brown the morning The party began to wind down at around 11 o' clock when the attendees were Vital Records & More. ''The nicest thing I can say for this whole house,'' Rawley concluded, ''is it has swell closet space. View more property details, sales history, and Zestimate data on Zillow. Burrough chronicles the rise and fall of Clint Murchison Jr., from his pinnacle as owner of the Dallas Cowboys to the collapse of his empire in bankruptcy. Cowboys connection: Clint Murchison was the father of Dallas Cowboys co-founder Clint Murchison Jr. Glen Abbey was created on [] In the 10th Congressional District, 29-year-old Lyndon Johnson had won his seat with a campaign that gave unconditional support for FDR and court reorganization. Most Revealing Wink Of The 20th Century: Congressman Albert Thomas winks The rest of the party boarded Richardsons boat and a Potomac tender. Clint W. Murchison Sr. and Sid W. Richardson spent their boyhood years together in Athens and remained very close friends until the end of Richardson's life in 1959. The two brothers, John and Clint Jr., formed the Murchison Brothers Company and over the next several years gained tremendous success in oil, real estate and other businesses. It takes a special kind of person to squander a $200 million inheritance, but that is exactly what Clint Murchison, Jr. did. By 1987, Clint Murchison had sold his mansion and lived in a standard middle-class house with his wife Anne. With the support of Texas oilmen Clint Murchison and Sid Richardson, Young gains control of the big New York Central Railroad. Many, of course, came just to look. ''Clint Murchison is a legend here,'' Rawley said. Johnson would have probably gone to prison - they would have gotten rid of him with Dallas tycoons, FBI moguls and organized crime kingpins - emerging from He displayed the kinetic workswhich are in the style of Alexander Calderat Lupes house. spinned and whitewashed). The group included Jack Ruby, the Dallas nightclub owner who would later shoot then the day of the assassination he said 'well, we won the war'," said One minute hes roping cattle, and the next hes calling a dealer in Paris or London to get a million-dollar painting shipped over for a client to look at, says Dallas art dealer David Dike. The visit was more than a recognition of Texas oil as a rising power; it was a cosmic shuffle. Hes equally at home at his ranch in Palo Pinto County and his office on New Yorks Upper East Side. But on the louvered hurricane shutters, the relentless salt air has scratched out a gray patina. Richardson would bring in 80 wells in the field, leading Murchison to pay him the ultimate geological compliment: Sids really got the rocks.. With Lupes thick address book in hand, Hall started with the very richand oftentimes titledfrom around the world: Englands Princess Michael of Kent; Romes Father Allen Duston, Patron of the Arts at the Vatican Museum; Australias Lady June Porter; as well as celebrities Phyllis George Brown; Cliff Robertson; and Phyllis Diller. How He Went From a Mansion to a Rundown Rental. Carlos Don Stultz convicted in two murders signed confessions but now insists hes innocent. media mogul. Brown said that in the immediate aftermath of the convention Hunt and Johnson - he was so involved with some of this," said Brown. And it was at the Murchison mansion, just before Kennedy's trip to Dallas in 1963, where the fate of both LBJ and JFK would eventually be decided. But Hall is in no hurry to finish his work and move out. Son of an oil tycoon, Clint Murchison Jr. received $200 million after the death of his father in the late 1960s. RON HALL WAS RECENTLY WIDOWED and had retired from the art world when he was offered the chance to sell one of the largest private collections of contemporary art in America. ''I was here as a guest once,'' she said wistfully. In May 1937, the 165-foot presidential yacht, the USS Potomac, anchored in the bay behind the two islands while FDR and Elliott spent eight days fishing the waters of South Texas. It changed the trajectories of Lyndon Johnson and Dwight Eisenhower and put them on the road to the White House, and it cast Murchison and Richardson as the first oilman kingmakers. And Sid Richardson, the Big Four's fun-loving bachelor, was a friend of several presidents, including, most . before the assassination. Untitled Document Clint W. Murchison Sr was married twicefirst to Anne Morris (b. a masked gunman invaded Cullen Davis' hilltop mansion . The Texas tycoon had planned to work out a debt repayment plan without taking refuge in bankruptcy court, said head Murchison attorney Philip I . me again - that's no threat - that's a promise.'" It did not go unnoticed that the land seizure stopped at Clint Murchisons fence line. And he would be working for a family with more money and more internecine battles than the Sopranos. Murchison was the wealthy son of a successful Texas oilman, graduating from Duke and earning a master's degree from MIT. For FDR, its virtue was that it was metal. United States was.at that time in my life I thought they were untouchable," Fishing guide Ted Mathews (left) looks on. In Winkler County, close to the New Mexico border, Richardson had recently found the foundation of his massive fortune the Keystone Field. The 26-acre estate, completed in 1963, is said to be on the block for about $10 million. (G.J. Brown described Ruby as the "in man" in Texas who could be trusted rolling oil tycoons, judges and then FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. The Newman Family. There, he entertained guests such as Elliott Roosevelt, the raffish son of the president, who had moved to Fort Worth to find his fortune. He built a mansion in Houston during the Depression and justified it as a civil enterprise, bringing jobs to hundreds of . to perhaps the biggest smoking gun proving that the assassination of JFK was Start your own chapter in the former home of the Dallas Polo Club. Enjoy unlimited access to all of our incredible journalism, in print and digital. When they visited, Hall found himself in a very awkward position, and not just because they saw his cowboy boots and Armani suits in their mothers closets and his toiletries in her 600-square-foot bathroom. Let them come and buy the works. After all, the proceeds would go to Lupes favorite charities. He was FDRs appointee as chairman of the Reconstruction Finance Corp. My friends all have plenty of money, she had told her lawyers. I guess when the dollars ran out, so did the caretaker.''. behind the assassination of JFK was exposed. John and Lupe took the house on the condition that it was Lupe's house and Clint Sr. had no say in the way it was run. (Port Aransas Preservation and Historical Association). Corcoran had been busy strategizing on the presidents Supreme Court reform bill. the Kennedy's "would never embarrass me again" the night before the Clinton Williams Murchison, Sr. (April 11, 1895 - 20 June 1969), was a noted Texas-based oil magnate and political operative. When Lyndon B. Johnson finally arrived, she said: Corcoran believed that businessmen rarely contributed enough money to political campaigns to have any true influence. Manchester's book. For more than two decades, since Johns death in 1979, Lucilleor Lupe, as she was knownhad been the matriarch of the legendary family whose oil fortune was made by her father-in-law, Clint Murchison Sr., and multiplied by his two sons, John and Clint Jr. Just as Clint Jr. became famous as owner of the Dallas Cowboys, so the art collection gave John and Lupe enormous cachet among the international rich, setting them apart from the rough-and-tumble Texas oil crowd of their day, most of whom did not collect art of any kind. There was no negotiating. Not even with her children. Having had her own (and LBJ's illegitimate) son and nanny disappeared by Johnson's hitmen after the assassination, and upon hearing of the strange deaths of many other people connected to the events in Dealy Plaza, Brown felt that she was safer out in the light and decided to let the world hear her story. Latest Headlines Odd News . with Dallas tycoons, FBI moguls and organized crime kingpins - emerging from Hot Property: 23 Ash Bluff Lane, $8.95 Million. A headline in the National Petroleum News noted, Roosevelts Hosts Company in Texas Fined for Hot Oil Law Violations.. . Hopefully He was also the father of Dallas Cowboys owner Clint Murchison, Jr.. of criminals from carrying out 9/11? The dramatic stone-and-glass house was the perfect backdrop for selling the art, and it made sense for someone to live there while both the house and the art were on the market. Enjoy unlimited access to all of our incredible journalism, in print and digital. The former home of Clint Murchison Sr. and, later, his partner Toddie Lee Wynne Sr., has come under assault by the elements since the land became a government wildlife refuge in 1986. Garrett insisted the auction be held on the Murchison estate. Now I like this boy and youre going to help him with anything you can.. ), The USS Potomac anchored in the bay behind Matagorda and San Jose islands while President Franklin Roosevelt spent eight days fishing. They would, however, get first refusal. Just before John F. Kennedy was assassinated he upset people like Clint Murchison and Haroldson L. Hunt when he talked about plans to submit to Congress a tax reform plan designed to produce about $185,000,000 in additional revenues by changes in the favourable tax treatment until then accorded the gas-oil industry. The mansion on St. Johns was purchased by Aikman for a confirmed $4.3 million. and it's the biggest JFK smoking gun there is - despite the fact that it has Deadline Extended: D CEOs Commercial Real Estate Awards, Submit Your Transactions to D CEOs Deal Ticker. To the south is Port Aransas, a postcard beach town where fishing yachts and sailboats mingle in the harbor. mafia kingpins, several newspaper and TV reporters, and Richard Nixon. McCarthy/Staff Photographer). It is important to note that before her death Brown carried no hostility towards It was that brash irreverence that would endear Richardson to two presidents. happened to John Kennedy - he and Lyndon Johnson," said Brown. rolling oil tycoons, judges and then FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. Inside the house, Jewel Phifer, who had come from Dallas to serve the president, waited with a tray of mint juleps on the veranda. Two days later, he was back to escort the presidential party, first to his island, San Jose, and then to Matagorda for lunch. about two years prior to the assassination of John Kennedy." then the day of the assassination he said 'well, we won the war'," said Galleries with more important works are doing well, because the economy doesnt affect the very rich. Further investigation proved to Perry that Murchison had moved from his Dallas home four years earlier after a stroke and declining health. Once the residence of Dallas oilman Clint Murchison and Toddie Lee Wynne, the abandoned 13,000-foot-square mansion on Matagorda Island is now home to rattlesnakes and barn owls. Clint was a hot oiler in every respect, recalled oilman J.R. Parten. His private office was. he said 'you know what this is?' Murchison Jr. was brought up to experience the finer things in life, and this would align with how he spent his fortune. But some of the familys friends bristled at the notion. A town house project in Washington flopped, as did condominiums in Richmond and Palm. before the assassination. He was intensely interested in the details of your campaign. Having had her own (and LBJ's illegitimate) son and nanny disappeared by Johnson's Not only will he have to stop living like a billionaire (or at least living in a billionaires house), but when the collection is finally sold, Hall will have to break an almost intimate bond hes formed with his departed client. Clint Murchison Jr.: $1.4 billion inheritance Clint Murchison Jr. was bequeathed a bumper $200 million when his oil tycoon father died in 1969. Everything fell apart for Mr. Murchison, whose mere signature used to be enough to borrow tens of millions. In twenty years, Clint had gone through $1.25 billion to $550 in debt. For passing fishermen, the only clue to a deeper story comes when an occasional private jet descends over the bay and touches down on San Jose. 1961 Lincoln Continental. Brown said that the plan to kill JFK had its origins in the 1960 Democratic Clint Murchison was a math whiz and relied more on science to find his oil. received little media attention. came back to Dallas I was walking.with him.and he Alan Peppard of The Dallas Morning News reviewed Bryan Burrough's best-selling book in the March 1 issue of The News. It was the rare occasion when a Hunt squared off against a Murchison, but when it finally happened, in Lamar's and Clint's pursuit of an NFL team for Dallas, all Texas paid attention. stands next to him. Murchison's [read more] instinctive mastery of banking and lending practices translated easily into an understanding of the new business of oil and gas exploration. When Hall approached the museum, he was told the snafu was due to a bookkeeping errorwhich is putting the best possible face on it. Screens kept out the mosquitoes yet allowed the sea breeze to waft through the one-story mansion. Limousine Complete Stop Limousine Windshield . Murchisons houseman Jewel Phifer noted that Richardson talked a lot and he would say anything to anybody. Hunt, John Curington, George Brown of Brown + Root, former Texas Republican Congressman Bruce Alger, and John J. McCloy. SOB's" would never embarrass him again. It was my job as a fiduciary to get as much money as I could for the works, he explains. or found dead having allegedly shot themselves five times in the head. He did not drink much but he held respect for no person. Copyright 2023, D Magazine Partners, Inc. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Selling millions in art during a down market would not be easy. They called me and said, We dont know what to do with all this stuff. The estate managers had first offered the job to Sothebys auction house in New York. by Barr McClellan, father of White House press secretary Scott McClellan. Clint Murchison was the top business leader and behind the scenes political leader in Dallas in the 1963 era. '', Eileen Ray and Clemence Rawley had come to see how a legend lived. "It was a political crime for political power," said Brown as she Roosevelt also received Gov. On the dock stood Gov. Lyndon Johnson and in fact was just as smitten with him as on the first day FEDERAL: 10,002 acres. he said 'you know what this is?' had this deep voice and he said, 'after tomorrow those S.O.B. 's will never embarrass When Lupe Murchison died, she left behind a world-renowned, multimillion-dollar modern art collection and instructions to sell it all for charity. or found dead having allegedly shot themselves five times in the head. would go as the vice president.this came from the horse's mouth way back In the video Brown describes the make-up and activities of the "8F group" Mr. Murchison, who had been debilitated. (G.J. Hes working in metal from cardboard models that he made after his wife Deborah died of colon cancer in November 2000. of the assassination, telling her the Irish mafia (meaning the Kennedy family) Two isolated islands off the coast of South Texas became unlikely centers of power and influence after they were purchased by two of the richest men in the country. Brown was in Dallas in the day of the assassination but just as the parade Dallas, Texas 75201. 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