Riverside Theater: The Early Years

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Image courtesy Larry Widen

Lucy and Desi at the Riverside Theater 1950

Ad for Lucy and Desi at the Riverside Theater, July 6, 1950

“There’s three bad weeks in vaudeville. Christmas week, Easter week and a week in Milwaukee.”

                                                                                                                  —Old showbiz saying

During its long life, the Riverside theater saw plenty of ups and downs, but a mid-1980s restoration saved the failing movie palace from closing. The Princess, Miller, Palace and Garden theaters all opened before the Riverside, but they vanished decades ago, leaving no trace of their existence.

The Riverside was housed inside the 1927-era Empire Building, which replaced the Pabst-owned Empire Restaurant and Saloon. The 12-story building cost nearly $3 million dollars and towered over West Wisconsin Avenue at the river. The deluxe 2,500-seat theater opened on April 29, 1928. Twenty blue-clad ushers escorted patrons to the best remaining seats as manager Harry Billings shook hands and thanked them for choosing his theater.

The Riverside’s initial programs were bizarre, to say the least. Little people and conjoined twins were frequent performers, as were the Armless Golfer, World’s Tallest Man, Bicycle-Riding Bears, Simian Dancers and the Half Man-Half Woman. Each of these attractions appeared on stage to display a particular talent or ability. Hadji Ali, the Human Volcano, began his act by drinking 60 glasses of water and a pint of kerosene. After eating a handful of unshelled pecans and a half-dozen handkerchiefs, Hadji expelled a huge blast of flame from his mouth. Carnival and midway acts like these were unkindly referred to as “freak shows.”

From the beginning, the Riverside faced stiff competition from the sensational new talking pictures. The huge financial success of Al Jolson’s The Jazz Singer effectively signaled the end of the silent movie era. Even though Jolson’s films were held over for seven or eight weeks, the Riverside stubbornly refused to play the talkies and stuck with their weekly vaudeville programs. The diminishing attendance over the next few years was confirmed by smaller ads relegated to the bottom of the newspaper entertainment pages. It wasn’t until the mid-1930s that the theater began featuring popular dance bands, comedians, and film stars at the top of the bill. Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, desperate to work their way out of seedy burlesque theaters, earned $250 for a week at the Riverside. Comedian Red Skelton got $350. Broadway star Sophie Tucker shared a bill with bandleader John Phillip Sousa and suddenly the Riverside was a serious competitor on the Avenue.

The Big Bands

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Photo: Loraine Strack collection

Riverside Theater, April 19, 1942

Riverside Theater, April 19, 1942

For the two decades, it was the premier place to hear the orchestras of Lawrence Welk, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington. Popular singing stars like the Andrews Sisters, Mills Brothers, Ink Spots, and Nat King Cole performed for a week-long stand. The comedy bookings were filled by the likes of the Three Stooges, Laurel and Hardy and Henny Youngman. And Hollywood furnished the Riverside with stars that included Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Oscar winner Hattie McDaniel, the Dead End Kids, Danny Kaye and Milwaukee native Pat O’Brien. There were a few surprises in there as well. Eight-year-old singing star Baby Rose Marie performed in 1932. Baby Rose grew up to be Sally Rogers on the “Dick Van Dyke Show.” Fourteen-year-old Judy Garland was on the stage in September 1934, and a young Frank Sinatra made his first appearance with Tommy Dorsey’s band in 1940.

In 1958, the Riverside became the first Wisconsin Avenue entertainment venue to feature rock and roll shows, and Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, and Buddy Holly sold out 4 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. performances. Later, shows by Johnny Cash, Edgar Winter, KISS, and Joe Walsh alternated with low-budget horror and karate movies. The Riverside was dead on its feet when a new era of highly successful shows was implemented.