Hi. My name is Mark Zimmermann, and I wanted to share some information on the Telenews/Esquire Theatre in downtown Milwaukee. I worked at the Esquire from 1971-1973. I was trained and had the good fortune of working with Mr. Elroy Luedtke, the
Manager at that time. He was very experienced, having started working on opening day at the Modjeska Theatre back in 1927. Also our cashier, Ms. Elinor Scheinbien had been working at the Modjeska in 1927. Both loved to talk about the good old days, ballyhoo, and showmanship and I was an avid listener. Previous management had saved photos and ad copy from opening day and I was able to see it.
Here’s the text of the opening day ad copy they sent to the Milwaukee Journal for Friday, July, 11, 1947.
“Opens Today at 9:45 AM. Continuous to Midnight. America’s Finest Newsreel Theater Presenting Milwaukee’s Fastest Moving Program. A New Form of Entertainment! Our programs consist of one hour of the LATEST NEWS events gathered by leading newsreel companies throughout the world… Edited by experts and augmented with the FINEST SHORT SUBJECTS, providing Milwaukee with UNEXCELLED, DIVERSIFIED ENTERTAINMENT. It keeps you abreast of the times…HISTORY IN THE MAKING! Inaugural Program! 40 World News Events 40
Actual Films! Jap War Criminal Executed in China! Truman Rebukes Russia! Latest Flood Disasters! Texas City Rebuilds! Hunger in Germany! Circus in Moscow! First Showing! Telenewshorts: Radio’s Famed ‘Answer Man’ in ‘Storm Warning’ Sportscope! Track Expose ‘Racing Sleuth’ Milwaukee’s Greatest Entertainment Value! ANY SEAT 33 Cents plus tax Anytime. EXTRA! ‘Salute to Milwaukee’ Relax in Milwaukee’s only Theater Radio Lounge and see actual broadcasts by radio station WFOX! The New Air-Conditioned TELENEWS NEWSREEL THEATER Wisconsin at 3rd.â€
I don’t know how long the newsreel format ran, but I do have a 1952 newspaper page of Milwaukee movie theater listings that had a display ad showing the Telenews had the
Milwaukee premiere of “Les Miserables†starring Michael Rennie. So the newsreel concept must have discontinued just as television news became popular. Also while I worked there I talked to customers who told me for a couple of years in the mid-50’s
played double-bill B-Westerns like Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and Lash LaRue. By the mid-60’s when Marcus Theatres bought it, the Esquire started showing prestige foreign films like Ingmar Bergman and Bridget Bardot. Then they had the Exclusive Milwaukee
showing of “The Graduate†for 68 weeks. Other movies that they had for runs of 4 months or more were MAS*H, Romeo & Juliet, Love Story, Harold & Maude, and
Slaughterhouse 5. By the 1970’s things started going down hill. We stopped getting exclusive premieres and started sharing playdates with Southgate & Mayfair mall theatres. Then we started running double-bills along with second-run neighborhood
houses and then started showing Swedish X-rated movies. The one thing we did start at the Esquire that was ahead of it’s time was Midnight Flicks. We first aired the infamous
John Waters film “Pink Flamingosâ€. The Milwaukee Police shut the theater down after the second Saturday showing. After 3 weeks of debate in the Common Council they allowed us to show it again. Next we played “Rocky Horror Picture Show†for about 6
Saturdays before it moved to it’s permanent home the Oriental.
Another thing I wanted to mention was that the Esquire did have a small balcony of 52 seats. I’m not sure when they added it, but we did use it on the weekends.
Hi. My name is Mark Zimmermann, and I wanted to share some information on the Telenews/Esquire Theatre in downtown Milwaukee. I worked at the Esquire from 1971-1973. I was trained and had the good fortune of working with Mr. Elroy Luedtke, the
Manager at that time. He was very experienced, having started working on opening day at the Modjeska Theatre back in 1927. Also our cashier, Ms. Elinor Scheinbien had been working at the Modjeska in 1927. Both loved to talk about the good old days, ballyhoo, and showmanship and I was an avid listener. Previous management had saved photos and ad copy from opening day and I was able to see it.
Here’s the text of the opening day ad copy they sent to the Milwaukee Journal for Friday, July, 11, 1947.
“Opens Today at 9:45 AM. Continuous to Midnight. America’s Finest Newsreel Theater Presenting Milwaukee’s Fastest Moving Program. A New Form of Entertainment! Our programs consist of one hour of the LATEST NEWS events gathered by leading newsreel companies throughout the world… Edited by experts and augmented with the FINEST SHORT SUBJECTS, providing Milwaukee with UNEXCELLED, DIVERSIFIED ENTERTAINMENT. It keeps you abreast of the times…HISTORY IN THE MAKING! Inaugural Program! 40 World News Events 40
Actual Films! Jap War Criminal Executed in China! Truman Rebukes Russia! Latest Flood Disasters! Texas City Rebuilds! Hunger in Germany! Circus in Moscow! First Showing! Telenewshorts: Radio’s Famed ‘Answer Man’ in ‘Storm Warning’ Sportscope! Track Expose ‘Racing Sleuth’ Milwaukee’s Greatest Entertainment Value! ANY SEAT 33 Cents plus tax Anytime. EXTRA! ‘Salute to Milwaukee’ Relax in Milwaukee’s only Theater Radio Lounge and see actual broadcasts by radio station WFOX! The New Air-Conditioned TELENEWS NEWSREEL THEATER Wisconsin at 3rd.â€
I saw several pictures of the radio station downstairs in the basement lounge area. The studio where the broadcast was originated was in the back with a glass window and door. By 1971 it was a storage room and it still had soundproofing materials on the walls. The outdoor café look was still there, but was looking ragged. There was a working fountain
that was used for donations for charities, but by 1973 the fountain was broken and lay empty after that.
I don’t know how long the newsreel format ran, but I do have a 1952 newspaper page of Milwaukee movie theater listings that had a display ad showing the Telenews had the
Milwaukee premiere of “Les Miserables†starring Michael Rennie. So the newsreel concept must have discontinued just as television news became popular. Also while I worked there I talked to customers who told me for a couple of years in the mid-50’s
played double-bill B-Westerns like Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and Lash LaRue. By the mid-60’s when Marcus Theatres bought it, the Esquire started showing prestige foreign films like Ingmar Bergman and Bridget Bardot. Then they had the Exclusive Milwaukee
showing of “The Graduate†for 68 weeks. Other movies that they had for runs of 4 months or more were MAS*H, Romeo & Juliet, Love Story, Harold & Maude, and
Slaughterhouse 5. By the 1970’s things started going down hill. We stopped getting exclusive premieres and started sharing playdates with Southgate & Mayfair mall theatres. Then we started running double-bills along with second-run neighborhood
houses and then started showing Swedish X-rated movies. The one thing we did start at the Esquire that was ahead of it’s time was Midnight Flicks. We first aired the infamous
John Waters film “Pink Flamingosâ€. The Milwaukee Police shut the theater down after the second Saturday showing. After 3 weeks of debate in the Common Council they allowed us to show it again. Next we played “Rocky Horror Picture Show†for about 6
Saturdays before it moved to it’s permanent home the Oriental.
Another thing I wanted to mention was that the Esquire did have a small balcony of 52 seats. I’m not sure when they added it, but we did use it on the weekends.