The Murchisons: The Rise and Fall of a Texas Dynasty

by Jane Wolfe

They were the ultimate Texas oil so rich that their multi-million dollar deals were sealed with a handshake, so self-indulgent that their football fancy resulted in the formation of the Dallas Cowboys, so powerful that royalty and presidents -- from Franklin Roosevelt to Nixon -- were never more than a phone call away.Yet beneath this dazzling facade lay sexual obsession, drugs, and, ultimately, financial troubles which would reverse the family's fortunes. The Murchisons, an intimate portrait of the real-life Ewings of "Dallas," is the tragic and true story of their ambition and genius, the greed, power and pride.

Genres: Sports, Business, Biography

505 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1989

About the author

Jane Wolfe is the author of two previous biographies and one that will be published in September, 2022. Her first book, "THE MURCHISONS: The Rise and Fall of a Texas Dynasty," was published in 1989. Her second book, published in 1994, is "BLOOD RICH: When Oil Billions, High Fashion, and Royal Intimacies Are Not Enough." Both received highly favorable reviews, including this one about "THE MURCHISONS" - "If episodes of the TV show 'Dallas' were half as interesting as this real life Texas family, ratings would never be a problem."

Her current book is "BURL: Journalism Giant and Media Trailblazer," to be published by Andrews McMeel Publishing (AMP) on September 6, 2022. It is the story of the late Burl Osborne, former chairman of "The Associated Press" and publisher of "The Dallas Morning News," who waged and won one of the last great newspaper wars in the United States. The biography tells the riveting story of Burl's unlikely rise from the coal mines of Appalachia to the pinnacle of journalism - a remarkable feat made more so by his ongoing battle with kidney disease. In the early 1960s Burl pioneered home kidney dialysis treatment and in 1966 became only the 130th person in the world to undergo a live kidney transplant, a risky and unproven operation at the time. His is an exciting journey during the golden age of journalism, and his biography will be required reading for journalism and medical students alike.

Author Jane Wolfe lived in Dallas for forty years before recently relocating to her hometown of Columbus, Ohio. She has written for dozens of newspapers and magazines, including "The New York Times" and "Town & Country."

Reviews

[Andrew Tollemache · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a 25 year old book this one still holds up. LIke the recent "The Big Rich", Jane Wolfe tells the story of the rise and fall of the original big Texas oil fortunes. In this case Wolfe focuses on the Murchison's, starting Clint Murchison Sr's rise from the oil fields of East Texas during the Great Depression and how he turned the enormous windfall profits of Texas oil into enormous and diversified real estate and financial empires. His 2 sons then extended the empire to Wall Street in the 1950s and pro football in the 1960s--they started the Dallas Cowboys.
Then thru the 70's it all starts to fall apart as Clint jr made dumber and more leveraged deals that thru off little cash. In the 1980s it all fell apart as 3rd generation Murchison's sued for their misappropriated trusts which started a slow building run on the bank that saw Clint Jr go bankrupt ith less than $5k in the bank, 20 years after being one of the richest men in America.
IN terms f=of TX history this story lays out the reason why TX did not turn into West Virginia. Both of vast energy resources, TX used theirs to turn what was a really poor, rural state into a powerhouse of the Union. West VA seems more like some French colony with outside agents exploiting it all.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fairly decent, well-written saga about a famous Texas oil dynasty. This might have provided the inspiration for the Ewing family in Dallas. All the familiar elements are in place - the visionary rags to riches patriarch, the free-spending hedonistic heirs, greed, sex, drugs and even a little bit of NFL football. The family's decline is more pathetic than tragic. The description of Clint Murchison is accurate and impressive.

[Michele Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book about one of the early Texas oil dynasties. The rise of a man from a small Texas town into one of the richest men in America is the ultimate American dream, but so is the fall.

[Richard Trepsas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great American heroic story of unique characters and wheeler-dealers, lots of insights into the ways the oilfield worked and how finance and operations were interconnected. I read this due to an association I happen to have had with someone in the family and the online description of this book. I had by chance come across this in an internet search. This is a very thorough, engaging, and riveting rags-to-riches-to-rags/or-? again American and Texan saga of heroic entrepreneurs who struck it rich, broke/and or made up their own rules for how to manage risk and investments, had charmingly complex personalities, and always lived big, once they had made their fortune. Starting poor and humble, over 4 generations the clan rose by ingenious business tactics and eventually straddled the cultural chasms between the dirt poor east Texas of their origins to Texas oilfield royalty to the upper echelons of the Eastern financial establishment and Ivy League elite.
The big hero (for me)in this is the one, Clint Murchison, Sr. who founded the fortunes in the oilfield by his shrewd wheeling-dealing and never lost his integrity (nor did he ever think he was above other people, remaining simple and humble even when his riches came)that he was trusted (as were to a similar degree his 2 sons who took over the business mid-20th Century) to borrow hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars by merely signing his name and often just a handshake to a banker or business associate. His sons also did very well, making millions in oil and other businesses through the 60's into the 1980's although they split the best qualities of Clint, Sr., one of them, Clint, Jr., was much more risk loving, and the other, John was more conservative, which lead to both intra-family tensions and differing business results. Interestingly, the various wives of these 3 principals played a huge role throughout the story.
Finally, I was drawn to this book because as lifelong pro football fan I was curious to see how Clint, Jr. founded and directed the Dallas Cowboys so that they became "America's Team." This story is also told and the football team's fascinating history from 1960 into the mid-'80s is amply chronicled.

[Bud · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an older book, but is a facinating read of Texas oil, wealth, and the rise and fall of a family dynasty. Clint Jr was the first owner of the Dallas Cowboys. His brother developed the Vail ski resort in Colorado.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of a Texas oil family, this book outlines and details a type of life that, in all honesty, scares me :)