The Milwaukee Post

September 5, 2014 • Milwaukee County Post • 17 New local PBS documentary recalls Fab Four 'conquering' Milwaukee 50 years ago By TOM JOZWIK Special to The Post MILWAUKEE — Considering the vast- ness of North America, two dozen cities is a tiny total. Historian Diana Belscamper is quite cor- rect, then, when she points out in a new doc- umentary that Milwaukee "was one of the very few stops on the (1964 North American Beatles) tour at the peak, when this frenzy was emerging." As performers and overnight guests in the city Sept. 4 and Sept. 5, 1964, the mop-topped creators of the Beatlemania frenzy "were part of our com- munity," Belscamper adds, "if only for a day." Written, produced and directed by Raul Galvan, "The Beatles Invade Milwaukee"— which commemorates that brief Beatles-as- Milwaukeeans period — will be telecast locally Saturday (10 p.m., Channel 36). At 30 min- utes, the documentary runs approximately the same length of time The Beatles entertained in downtown Milwaukee 50 years ago tonight at the Milwaukee Arena (now called the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena). "The Beatles Invade Milwaukee" combines movie footage (the Fab Four in Milwaukee and on the "Ed Sullivan Show") with talking heads (historians; fans who attended the Milwaukee concert; "fifth Beatle" Bob Barry) and still photographs. Barry, a popular disc jockey on Milwaukee radio station WOKY in the 1960s and '70s, gained his moniker by introducing the Beatles onstage at the arena (a non-paid gig he originally refused) and also spending offstage time with them during their whirl- wind visit. Barry conducted talkbacks fol- lowing two public preview screenings last week of "The Beatles Invade Milwaukee" at the Milwaukee Theatre, next door to the arena. Hobnobbing with the Fab Four "was a lot of fun," Barry commented. The "very talent- ed" Beatles were "the biggest act to ever come to Milwaukee," he said, bringing with them "all these innocent love songs." The documentary's soundtrack includes "I Want to Hold Your Hand," "Please Please Me" and "Can't Buy Me Love," to which preview attendees clapped along during closing cred- its. According to the film, the '64 concert attracted a crowd of just under 12,000. There were four warmup acts, but the concertgoers were apparently revved up even before the first of these. "Nobody was on stage, but they were screaming already," a fan recalls onscreen regarding the mostly female assemblage. "When the Beatles came on," according to Barry, "you heard very, very little." (For the record, they opened with "I Saw Her Standing There.") The Fab Four spent the night in the Coach House Motor Inn at 19th Street and Wisconsin Avenue, now a Marquette University dormitory. Barry encountered a "typical boys' room, I guess," when he showed up at the motel the next day. The place was "in shambles," with clothes, bed- ding and soda bottles strewn about. Fans, Barry said, had sent gifts including jewelry, stuffed animals, champagne and "beautiful cakes." The loot was piled high in a WOKY van and driven to the airport in advance of the famed visitors' departure. "I'll eat the cakes — and definitely give me the champagne," Barry remembered the joc- ular Ringo saying. "Give the rest to Children's Hospital or an orphanage," sug- gested Paul. John said nothing — he was down with laryngitis. By today's standards, tickets to the con- cert were a tremendous bargain. At a time when bread cost about 20 cents a loaf and gas sold for 30 cents a gallon, the Beatles could be seen in Beer City for between $2.50 and $5.50. The Beatles' only Milwaukee concert appearance is featured in a new Milwaukee Public Television program, "The Beatles Invade Milwaukee." The show will be televised at 10 p.m. Saturday on Channel 36. Here, they appear with former WOKY disc jockey Bob Barry, who introduced the band to the Milwaukee Arena crowd. Galvan Muskego man has his own Beatles collection By TOM JOZWIK Special to The Post MILWAUKEE — Paul Costanzo, who displayed and sold items from his Beatles memorabilia collection at the Milwaukee Theatre when the documen- tary "The Beatles Invade Milwaukee" was previewed last week, summarized his holdings. "I have everything, but I have too many things," said the goateed and bespectacled Muskego man, undoubted- ly sounding like his wife and the spous- es of countless other collectors. His collection includes a life-sized statue of John Lennon, Costanzo said. That wooden figure didn't accompany the collector to the Milwaukee Theatre, but Fab Four-related toys, calendars, posters, magazines and newspapers did. The headline on the Sept. 5, 1964 front page of the Milwaukee Sentinel, which Costanzo had on display, screamed "Beatles Conquer City." Costanzo said he's lacking one bit of memorabilia: a ticket stub from that 50- year-old Milwaukee concert. Any stub possessor who'd like to sell can email pcostanzo@wi.rr.com. The Beatles came, saw and conquered Milwaukee yesterday and will not be for- gotten for a long time. From their 4:30 p.m. arrival at Billy Mitchell Field until the close of their 8 p.m. performance in the Arena, they held the attention of thousands of devoted fans. They packed the Arena with more than 11,000 persons, most of them screaming teenagers. The Beatles were wisked away to the Coach House Motor Inn, 1926 W. Wisconsin Ave., where they spent the evening. The next event was a press conference at 7 p.m. on the second floor of the hotel. John Lennon, 23, did not attend due to a sore throat. Paul McCartney, 22, the bouncy Beatle; George Harrison, 21, the unusual Beatle; and Ringo Starr, 24, the quiet Beatle, were there. The Beatles then left, hurriedly, to pre- pare for the concert. The doors of the arena opened at 6:30 p.m. and the concert started at 8 p.m. with four other groups appearing before The Beatles. As The Beatles approached the stage, a deafening scream rose throughout the auditorium and lasted until the end of the concert. The Beatles were dressed in navy blue silk suits with velvet collars. They wore Cuban heeled boots. After announcing and completing 11 songs, The Beatles rushed from the arena. The Beatles departed from Milwaukee this morning for Chicago, where they will undoubtedly be received by screaming Chicago fans. (This Sept. 5, 1964, file story is courtesy of The Waukesha Freeman, a sister publica- tion of The Milwaukee Post.) Teenagers enjoy shriekfest as Beatles appear at Arena Submitted photo

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