Burt Bacharach dead at 94

Working banquets at the Shamrock we had a celebrity studded dinner and Santa Gertrudis cattle auction spearheaded by John Connally. There was a tennis tournament with names like Neil Simon, Dyck Van Patten, Franco Harris, Robert Duvall, Bob Griese and many, many others.

My girlfriend, now wife, wanted to meet all the celebrities so I got her on the staff as a banquet waiter. She ended up with a table that included Bacharach & Simon. Simon asked for something, she got it and said “here you are Mr Simon”. He said “call me Doc”.

Later there was a dance and my Captain asked if she could tend bar. Sure I said even though she had no clue. How hard is a banquet bar? Scotch & soda, rum and coke, etc. So Burt comes up and gets a red wine. Girlfriend is ga ga over him. Later Burt’s girlfriend came up and said that Burt wanted another red wine and put the old glass on the tray. My girlfriend said “if Burt Bacharach drank from that glass, I’d never give it up”. She laughed and left with the wine.

A bit later Burt comes up to her and says “Diane, I want you to have this glass”. We had that damn glass forever.

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Cool story. I honestly only know him from Austin Powers.

I grew up with his music. My parents always played his greatest hits in the car. Still enjoy hearing it.

Edit NM

Great story.

Seems like Houston of yesteryear had more leaders that created a buzz. People like
Hughes, Hofheinz, McCarthy, Cullen, Jesse Jones, etc

We were a smaller town.

Definitely true we were a smaller city back then. But I don’t see guys like Hofheinz, that had a vision
with the Astrodomain complex; or Jones and Cullen that made investments in Houston and with their endowments; or McCarthy and his Shamrock jewel and big pool. Seems like only guy that really invests in Houston today is Fertitta. Last big thing in Houston that had a wow factor was the
galleria from the 70s ?

Not true. Richard Kinder is as big as anyone in giving. He gives all over the place. Give me alittle time and I’ll think of others

You forgot Enron. It was the last big thing.

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Not true. Richard Kinder is as big as anyone in giving. He gives all over the place. Give me alittle time and I’ll think of others

Found this about Kinder.

As president and CEO of the Foundation, Mrs. Kinder oversees the vision and strategic leadership of the organization’s major gifts, some of which include Discovery Green, Buffalo Bayou Park, Bayou Greenways, Memorial Park Conservancy, and Buffalo Bayou East, among others.

These are nice donations. But don’t seem on the scale of previous leaders. And nothing in that list
is really visionary imho

There’s over $100,000,000 given out.

Hofheinz used Bob Smith’s money to get stuff done. The Kinders are the biggest givers out there. Glen McCarthy? He built a hotel. Kinder took Enron’s pipeline business and turned into KMI, one of the largest pipeline companies in the world.

The Kinders founded the Kinder Foundation in an effort to support education and the Greater Houston area by promoting preservation and accessibility to parks and green space. Through the foundation, the Kinders donated $15 million to Rice University in 2010 to support and rename the Kinder Institute for Urban Research, formerly Rice’s Institute for Urban Research.[17]

The foundation has funded projects that include the Bush Center at Southern Methodist University, the Texas Heart Institute and the Houston Food Bank.[18]

In October 2013, it was announced that the foundation would give $50 million to the Houston Parks Board for the Bayou Greenways 2020 Project, which connects greenspaces along Houston’s bayous and creates parkland.[19]

In 2014, the Kinder Foundation made possible the Kinder Forum on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri, a program “to support excellence in the teaching and study of American constitutional and democratic traditions”. In 2015, the foundation made an endowed gift of $25 million to MU to provide permanent support for the renamed Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy.[20] Also, the Kinder Foundation committed a principal gift of $50 million to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston for the redevelopment of its 14-acre campus which was unveiled in January 2015.

In October 2016, the Kinder Foundation obtained perpetual naming rights to Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts for $7.5 million.[21][22] The contract was approved by the school board after the Kinder Foundation said it would withdraw the funds if the board did not vote,[23] six days after the public announcement of the deal.[24] In April 2017, in response to a petition asking the Kinders to give the name back, Kinder wrote to the Superintendent of Houston Independent School District. Citing the negative controversy, he offered to release the naming rights but did not request or suggest that the original name be restored.[25] The issue is unresolved. The name change will be effective when the new downtown school building is occupied,[22] expected in January 2019.

Heard about his passing yesterday on the car radio on the UH station on the way home. I had no idea all those Dionne Warwick iconic hit songs were his…

Thanks for that. The Kinders have indeed given a lot to a lot of places, no doubt. But not in the ballpark of what Cullen gave to Houston back in the day I think. It is reported Cullen gave
11 million to UH by 1957 when he died. In todays dollars that’s like $110 million just to UH. And the
Cullen Foundation still makes donations to UH every few years.

And I’m not seeing any visionary things. True the
Shamrock was just a hotel , but it was something special for its time, as you probably know better than I. I never got to step foot in it.

The Shamrock was a hotel constructed between 1946 and 1949 by wildcatterGlenn McCarthy southwest of downtown Houston, Texas next to the Texas Medical Center. It was the largest hotel built in the United States during the 1940s.[1]

To the south was the hotel’s lavishly landscaped garden designed by Ralph Ellis Gunn, a terrace and an immense swimming pool measuring 165 (50m) by 142 feet (43 m) described as the world’s biggest outdoor pool, which accommodated exhibition waterskiing and featured a 3-story-high diving platform with an open spiral staircase

Noted- the $50 million Kinder gift given to Houston’s MFA is a significant donation; but not sure it’s a visionary type thing that has the wow factor like the Shamrock, Astrodomain complex, or Galleria did in their day.

Yeah, he isn’t a visionary

Beginnings[edit]

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP) was founded in 1997 when a group of investors acquired the general partner of a small, publicly traded pipeline limited partnership (Enron Liquids Pipeline, L.P.) later renamed Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P.[4] Its cofounder Rich Kinder had been the president of Enron. After Kinder was denied an expected promotion to replace Kenneth Lay as chief executive officer, he departed the company, purchasing its interest in ELP for $40 million.[12]

In 1999, Kinder Morgan conducted a reverse merger with KN Energy, a utility and pipeline company.[13] Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America (NGPL), which serves the Chicago market, was acquired through this deal. KN Energy became Kinder Morgan’s second publicly traded company, Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI).[14]

In 2001, Kinder Morgan’s third publicly traded company, Kinder Morgan Management, LLC (KMR) was formed to facilitate institutional ownership of KMP equity.[14]

Leveraged buyout[edit]

On August 28, 2006, Kinder Morgan announced that it would be taken private in a management-led leveraged buyout totaling approximately $22 billion. Outside participants in the transaction include Fayez Sarofim, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Highstar Capital (then owned by American International Group).[15] KMI began trading again on the NYSE on February 11, 2011, following the largest private-equity backed U.S. IPO offering in history.[14]

Subsequent events[edit]

In October 2011, Kinder Morgan Inc. agreed to buy El Paso Corp. (EP) for $21.1 billion and gave the combined company 67,000 mi (108,000 km) of gas lines, eclipsing Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD) as the biggest U.S. pipeline operator. The transaction paid with shares of Kinder Morgan, Kinder Morgan warrants, and all of cash portion $11.5 billion through Barclays (BARC) borrowing.[16]

On August 10, 2014, Kinder announced it was moving to full ownership of its partially owned subsidiaries Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, Kinder Morgan Management, and El Paso Pipeline Partners in a deal worth $71 billion.[17] The transaction closed on November 26, 2014.[18] Prior to November 26, 2014, the Kinder Morgan group publicly traded companies included Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI), Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: KMP), Kinder Morgan Management, LLC (NYSE: KMR) and El Paso Pipeline Partners, L.P. (NYSE: EPB); a merger transaction combined all under Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI), on November 26, 2014.[19]

American Petroleum Tankers[edit]

On December 23, 2013, Kinder Morgan announced that, through its Kinder Morgan Energy partner subsidiary (NYSE: KMP), it would acquire the U.S. oil tanker operator American Petroleum Tankers (APT) and its affiliated company SCT (State Class Tankers) from the U.S. private equity investment firms Blackstone Group and Cerberus Capital Management. APT operates a fleet of five U.S. flagged MR 50,000 tons—330,000 barrels—oil tankers and has four other similar tankers on order from the General Dynamics shipbuilding company NASSCO in California. This acquisition appears to be the first case whereby a pipeline operator will also be able to offer marine transportation.[20]

This acquisition would facilitate the export of U.S. natural resources to overseas markets, and Kinder Morgan had lined up several LNG export customers by July 2014.[21]

Way to hijack your own thread.

I’m playing the Apple Music playlist they have to Burt today, he’s had some great ones.

Correct. Shrewd business man ; but not visionary in the sense Hughes, Hofheinz, Hines,etc ( like say Musk’s is with Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink). Im using the term visionary as people doing something bigger or never been done before. Think like George Mitchell and fracking.

And of course his philanthropy, while great, is not Houston centric.

Yeah building one of the biggest pipeline companies on the face of the Earth doesn’t equate with a hotel. But okay

Glenn McCarthy was known as “Diamond Glenn”. He was a wildcatter and had a rags to richest
to rags tale. At height of his empire he was worth over $2 billion in todays dollars. King of the Wildcatters was another of his nicknames. The movie Giant is said to be based on his life. His Shamrock was just the first phase of what was planned to be a much larger expansive retail area. It is said Houston’s 1970 Galleria was inspired by his original Shamrock vision. He was in a sense the embodiment of Texas.

But main point I was trying to make is things that Houston is known for and the leaders that
created it. In 40s and 50s the Shamrock was one of the things Houston was noted for. In the
60s, I’d say the Astrodomain complex and NASA was what Houston was famously known for. In the 70’s it was the Galleria . And now it’s what ? And what leaders are doing big things in Houston
or investing in Houston ? Besides Fertitta, and his significant investments in UH. I was not
challenging how super wealthy Kinder is or his vast business endeavors. Just imho he is not a visionary ( as I’ve tried to define it ) or has created anything that people want to see when they
visit Houston.

But thanks for the respectful dialogue; I’ve enjoyed reading what you wrote. And your Burt Bacharach story is really a great tale and in a way a tribute to Burt. You sir are the Leon Hale
of coogfans.

I didn’t know this about Kinder either !

Its cofounder Rich Kinder had been the president of Enron.

His divorce was in 1996, the same year he left Enron, and he immediately married Nancy McNeil who was Ken Lay’s assistant until Lay’s death in 2006

When Kinder was skipped over for CEO, he said he’d take the pipelines and go. Skilling was more than happy to see his rival depart.

Kinder has made me pretty good money. Not great but pretty good