Park Cities Legends & Legacies — John Muse
Legends & Legacies is a series of articles focusing on some of the most prominent and accomplished families of Highland and University Park.
In this installment, we’ll be taking a look at the life and career of John Muse.
- Previous L&L profiles: Jerry Jones, Edwin L. Cox, Andrew Beal, The Crow Family, John Tolleson, Thomas O. Hicks & Robert Haas, Gerald J. Ford
Table of Contents
- 1. John Muse
- 2. Lyn Muse
- 3. The Highland Park Palazzo
- 4. Lucchese Boots
- 5. Lucchese Polo Team
- 6. Philanthropy
1. John Muse
John Muse is a businessman, a philanthropist, a polo player, and the current chairman of the boot-making company Lucchese. He is also the “Muse” in the legendary private equity firm of Hicks Muse Tate & Furst.
- To learn more about the private equity exploits of HMTF, click here
Muse was born and bred in Texas, spending his formative years in Tyler. After graduating from the Air Force Academy, he went on to earn his MBA from UCLA in 1974.
After a couple of senior posts in investment banking, he co-founded Hicks Muse in 1989 with Tom Hicks and was with that business for almost 30 years until his retirement.
1.1 Timeline of Events
- 1951: John Muse is born in Fort Worth, Texas, son of Arthur C. and Betty L. (Smith) Muse
- 1973: graduates from the US Air Force Academy
- 1974: receives MBA from UCLA
- 1975: marries Lyn A. Reynolds (i.e. Lyn Muse)
- 1989: along with Tom Hicks, co-founds HM Capital Partners (later known as Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst)
- 1997: acquires TX boot manufacturer Lucchese
- 2009: forms Lucchese Polo Team
- 2011: Lucchese is selected as the official boot of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders
- 2015: named President of the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club
- 2020: Lucchese Polo Team wins the Silver Cup, the oldest polo trophy played for in the United States
2. Lyn Muse
John is married to Lyn Muse, a fellow UCLA alumnus and an award winning interior designer. They have five children together.
2.1 Interior Designer
Lyn is the founder and President of Lyn Muse Interiors, a company specializing in residential and commercial interiors, as well as custom furniture and interior architecture.
She attended Britain’s Inchbald School of Design, The Courtauld Institute, and Christies programs and earned her B.A. in Design from UCLA.
2.2 Award Winner
Lyn was the 2015 recipient of the John Staub Award for Excellence in both classical and vernacular traditions.
- John Staub Award recognizes excellence in design and craftsmanship produced by Texas-based architects, landscape architects, interior designers and artisans.
Lyn won the 2015 award for her design of the Lucchese flagship store in Houston, where she created an environment evoking western tradition and handmade craftsmanship, two things that stand at the heart of Lucchese’s 130+ year, Texas-bred heritage.
3. The Highland Park Palazzo
The Muse family resides in Highland Park, in a palazzo designed by the renown British architect Quinlan Terry.
The house is a beautiful illustration of the Neo-Palladian style, an architectural style distinguished by its proportion, symmetry, a temple front, as well use of Palladian windows.
3.1 Quinlan Terry — The Architect
Muse’s Highland Park Palazzo is the work of renown British architect Quinlan Terry.
As the late Professor David Watkins once observed:
“Quinlan Terry is the single most distinguished and prolific architect at work in the Classical tradition in either Britain or the United States. He has attempted more completely than any other architect in Britain to pull the rug from beneath the false certainties of Modernism.”
3.2 Neo-Palladian Style
Neo-Palladian is a Classical style, named after the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580) whose work and ideas had a profound influence on European architecture to the present day.
In the United States, Palladianism remained the prevailing style for public buildings until the 1930s and has never quite gone out of fashion for domestic architecture.
Palladian architecture is known for its stately symmetry, classical elements, grand appearance and refinement.
3.3 Palladian Window
A Palladian window is a window where the center section is arched and larger than the two side sections (also known as a Venetian window)
Palladian windows are generally enormous in size — allowing a great deal of sunlight to enter the interior.
4. Lucchese Boots
Texas-based Lucchese, is a legendary bootmaker and an iconic brand of the American West, having been started close to 140 years ago by Italian immigrants Salvatore and Joseph Lucchese.
Since the late 90’s, John and Lyn Muse have been the care takers of this icon brand.
4.1 John Muse Q&A
What are some things people may not know about Lucchese?
“Lucchese was started by Italian immigrants in 1883. We have more history and longevity than almost any other brand. I tell my family that we are caretakers of this brand. This is a piece of Americana.”
What was your plan for Lucchese when you acquired it?
“Before Lucchese became available in 1997, the business seemed to have lost its way because its main focus wasn’t with cowboy boots. My plan was to refocus the brand on making great boots. I bought Lucchese and sold off the other attached brands.”
What are your favorite pair of Lucchese’s?
“The ones I wear the most are baby buffalo ropers. It’s like putting on house slippers. My personal favorite dress boot is black American alligator.”
5. Lucchese Polo Team
A lifelong athlete and equine enthusiast, John’s polo appreciation really started to elevate during the late 90’s, while working in London.
“Growing up in Texas, I felt comfortable on a horse, but riding in an English saddle took a lot of getting used to. I have always been an athlete, including football, lacrosse and skiing. However, I always preferred team sports. With a heavy work schedule and a young family, it took me years to develop any proficiency,” said Muse.
John’s polo appreciation elevated from spectator to player while learning and playing club chukkers at the Guards Polo Club in England.
- Guards Polo Club was founded in 1955 with Prince Philip named as the Club’s first President. A role he held for 66 years until his death in 2021.
5.1 Playing the Game
Since 2009, John has played competitively at medium and high goal levels throughout England, Argentina, and the United States.
Thanks to Muse’s dedication and passion, the Lucchese Polo Team continues to enjoy great success on the field and remains poised as one of the best polo organizations in the world.
5.2 John Muse Q&A
What are some things people may not know about polo?
“A lot of people don’t recognize the higher level of polo, the more dependent it is on the horse. The horse is the athlete; it’s not just the player. When you get to the level I’m at, many people say its 70% horse and 30% player. The horse makes all the difference in the world. Most people wrongly assume the horse is an appendage of the player, and the player is the most important thing.”
Tell us about the Lucchese polo team.
“Polo is a team sport that requires team chemistry and strategy. It’s an adrenaline infused sport with speed and horsepower and I I have been blessed to play with some great polo professionals over the years”
5.3 Polo 101
Polo is played between two teams with four players on each side, with each player responsible for furthering their own goal count while preventing the other side from scoring.
- Teams line up, with players in numerical order 1–4, face to face, opposite each other. The number indicates their position and responsibilities on the field
- Umpire begins the match with a throw-in, the ball is rolled between the teams, and play begins. Players must hit right-handed for safety reasons
- Teams change ends after each goal is scored to account for any wind advantage which may exist
- A polo match is approximately one and a half hours long and is divided into 7 ½ minute time periods called chukkers. There are typically six chukkers in a game
- Breaks between chukkers are three minutes long, with a regulation 10 minute halftime. For more polo basics, click here.
6. Philanthropy
John and Lyn Muse have been giving back to the community since they met at UCLA, where she was an undergraduate and he was a graduate student.
“I was volunteering at a detention center and asked him to come with me,” Lyn remembers, “and we’ve been volunteering together ever since.”
Their connection with the Dallas County Community College began in 2005, when they established a scholarship fund to help students displaced by Hurricane Katrina continue their educations.
In 2009, they established the Muse Scholars Program for students showing not only academic promise but also outstanding leadership.
“What inspires me is to give a helping hand to somebody and watch them parlay that into something really meaningful in their lives,” says Lyn, “It’s not a handout, just a helping hand — and it’s very gratifying to be able to offer that.”
Lending a helping hand has long been a family affair. John, Lyn and their five children are trustees of the Muse Education Foundation, supporting several private educational institutions.
They have also donated time and money to renovating Booker T. Washington High School and to the Chiapas Project, supporting women’s microfinancing loans in Latin America.
