This is a breaking news story. It will be updated.
Morton H. Meyerson, a business magnate and the namesake behind Dallas’ symphony hall, has died at age 87.
Meyerson had been battling prostate cancer since 2020, according to The Dallas Morning News.
The Fort Worth native became a giant of the Dallas business scene.
“Mort was an amazing, brilliant human. I owe much of my success to his always available wisdom. He will be missed,” Mark Cuban, an entrepreneur who was mentored by Meyerson, wrote in a statement to KERA.
Meyerson served as the president and vice chair of Ross Perot’s Electronic Data Systems and was involved in its eventual sale to General Motors Corp.
After serving as the chief technology officer for GM, Meyerson helped Perot build Perot Systems Corp., where he served as CEO and chair.
But Meyerson’s name is one of the most recognizable in the city, in part because it’s on one of the city’s most famous buildings: The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.
Meyerson was tasked with leading the building effort by then-DSO chair Robert Decherd, but Meyerson didn’t ask for the building to be named in his honor.
Instead, the idea came from Perot, who agreed to make a $10 million gift to fill a funding gap .
As Meyerson previously told KERA News, the naming rights were a condition of the deal.
“He said ‘Well I got a question for you, Mort: Do you want the money?’ I said yes, I did. Then he said ‘Then I get to name the hall.’”
The project, which took 10 years, was designed by architect IM Pei.
Along the way, there were many setbacks and disputes.
The committee’s initial proposal to the city did not go over well.
Meyerson had to referee conflicts between Pei and acoustics expert Russell Johnson.
And with two months until its opening, Meyerson had to figure out how to get marble shipped from Italy to Dallas fast.
He persevered. The hall opened in 1989 and it still attracts compliments for its beauty and its acoustics.
Still, the spotlight that came with that success made Meyerson slightly uncomfortable, as he told KERA in 2015.
“I came from a middle class family in Fort Worth, and I’m the grandson of immigrants, so I basically have lived the American dream,” he said. “Even in the American dream, you don’t think your name will be on a symphony hall, so for me, it is slightly embarrassing. But not so embarrassing that I can’t take joy in it.”
For Michelle Miller Burns, Ross Perot President and CEO of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, working in his namesake hall is an honor.
“What an incredible legacy that is and a demonstration of his commitment and ties to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and to this incredible venue here in the Dallas Arts District,” she said. “We will continue to honor Mort's legacy and the way in which he has shaped the past, present and future of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and in turn of this community.”
Meyerson loved classical music.
He played piano. And he also sang in the Dallas Symphony Chorus. But he never sought to draw attention to himself. His humility and frankness were part of his charm, Miller Burns said.
“I have adored getting to know Mort over the years. I've always looked forward to conversations with him, to lively debate, to lots of laughs and counterpoint in conversations. And I personally will miss his presence both here at the concert hall and also in private conversations,” she said.
“And I think that so many people involved with this organization will feel that loss and will want to honor Mort and his legacy for years and years to come.”
He is preceded in death by his son, David Nathan Meyerson, and his wife, Marlene Nathan Meyerson.
According to The Morning News, he is survived by his daughters Marti Meyerson of New York and Leslie Gordon of Arizona, six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Memorial details have not yet been announced.
