She was the only and irrevocable and unconquerable Elizabeth “Bo” Black of Milwaukee.
Black presided over the Summerfest, taking it from a local extravagance to an international behemoth, and gave Milwaukee something out of the ordinary, a dazzling and must-be event, and attracted the biggest names in music.
“It was a gun, man, it was a gun,” said her husband of 20 years, former Milwaukee Brewers manager Tom Trebelhorn.
Black, who had been in health problems for several years and was in hospice care for the past few days, died Friday morning at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona.
She was 74 years old.
“I think she was ready to go,” said Trebelhorn.
Trebelhorn said Black will be remembered for his influence on the construction of Summerfest.
He called her “a dynamic manager of arguably the best family-friendly neighborhood spot in Midwest history. She provided excellent entertainment at a reasonable cost. She loved ethnic festivals, celebrated the diversity of the city.”
“It is very sad,” said Blake Lindemann, one of his three children. “She was a colorful, firecracker woman.”
He said his mother moved to Arizona when he left the Big Gig in 2003, but Milwaukee was always on his mind and heart. He loved the diversity and excitement of Summerfest and kept track of what was happening there every year.
“She always made everyone feel special, whether it was the Summerfest meeting or the janitor who was picking up trash on the ground,” said Stephanie Anderson, one of Black’s two daughters. “That is a remarkable quality that I hope my children will take away from it.”
Summerfest officials mourned his death and said that under his leadership, the 11-day event experienced expansive growth, earning the distinction of being the “World’s Greatest Music Festival.”
“Bo truly dedicated himself to establishing Milwaukee as the Festival City during his tenure and worked tirelessly with various ethnic festivals and other charitable causes, helping to ensure its success,” said the statement from the Milwaukee World Festival Inc. leadership, which oversees The Summerfest.
The statement by Don Smiley, Howard Sosoff and long-time Ted Kellner, chairman of the board, said Black made his mark at Summerfest and “was a force.” “We are all grateful for their efforts, creativity and talent, which help make Summerfest the incredible experience it is today,” the statement said.
Mayor Tom Barrett said that no one is more associated with Summerfest than Black, even if she left almost two decades ago.
“She brought enthusiasm and glamor to her position as director of the Milwaukee World Festivals, and was also a demanding leader who organized the Summerfest and ethnic festivals on a course for continued success,” said Barrett. “Bo Black was truly a Milwaukee celebrity. She will be long remembered for her impact on our city.”
Black was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1946, the daughter of Joseph and Betty Mae Bussmann. She grew up in nearby Clayton, Missouri, part of a very large family.
Anderson said the Bussmann family is best known for inventing the electric fuse and that her mother was always proud of that heritage, making sure each of her grandchildren had a Buss fuse as a family heirloom.
Black first came to Wisconsin to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was the queen of the homecoming. She moved to Milwaukee with her first husband, William Black, when she got a job at the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.
Anderson said her mother had a brief stint as an actress at the Skylight Theater in Milwaukee, where she was told she would be “a better manager than a performer.” She often said that comment was the reason she stopped acting and went to work at the Summer Festival.
Black first worked at Summerfest as an administrative assistant to Summerfest director Henry Jordan in 1974-75. At the time she was named executive director of Summerfest in October 1983, she was a staff member of Mayor Henry Maier and frequently worked to raise funds for her campaigns.
From the beginning, Black was considered a skilled political player and was not afraid to challenge the people who underestimated her.
When she was named executive director, it emerged that Black had been on the cover of Playboy magazine, in a soccer jersey in a 1967 issue.
When asked about 1983, Black replied, “If I were a man named for the job, would anyone really care about a 16-year-old photo?”
Black quickly became the face of Summerfest, and stayed that way for two decades, and frequently wrestled with Maier’s successor, John Norquist, over how much Summerfest should pay the city for renting the festival grounds.
In her 19 years as a director, attendance at the 11-day festival has increased from 712,054 to more than one million in 2001 and 2002. Total net income reached nearly $ 11 million in 2002.
Black was also crucial in dramatically increasing corporate support for Summerfest, a crucial component to its survival and growth. After assuming the position of director in 1983, annual sponsorship revenue increased by more than 600% in 1996.
Under Black’s leadership, Summerfest opened the Marcus Amphitheater, now known as the American Family Insurance Amphitheater, in 1987, allowing the festival to continue reserving some of the planet’s biggest stars for its biggest stage, including the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Prince, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga and, on 15 occasions, Tom Petty and the heartbreakers. Black also expanded Summerfest to include a large number of ethnic festivals.
In September 2003, the Summerfest board voted not to renew Black’s contract. Even after leaving work and moving to Arizona, she remained identified with the Big Gig: in 2007, a few months after suffering a stroke, the festival named the central source of the grounds as the Elizabeth Bo Black Children’s Fountain.
“She was the face of Summerfest for so many years,” said Peter Jest, local concert promoter and owner of Shank Hall. In 1985 and ’86, Jest worked at Summerfest, as an assistant to Bob Babisch, who has headed the festival’s talent buying division since 1978. “She was a great thing for Milwaukee because everywhere you looked she was in a commercial or on a TV show. Summerfest, “said Jest.
Jest said she was instrumental in building Summerfest’s presence in the media, with virtually all television and radio stations broadcasting from the festival during her tenure.
“Bob’s talent was reserve, and his was public relations,” said Jest. “He really promoted it well.”
Black was a leading force for Summerfest in a local music industry that has been and continues to be predominantly male-led.
Leslie West, who was a co-owner of Alpine Valley Music Theater in East Troy during the beginning of Black’s tenure and co-owner of Rave since 1992, said Black “was the coolest marketing person I’ve ever met in my entire life.”
“I’m comparing her to any band manager, anyone I’ve ever come across,” West said. “There is no one who is cooler than her.”
Black is survived by her husband; her three children, Stephanie Anderson of Pelham, New York, Kellyn Lindemann of Scottsdale, Arizona, and Blake Lindemann of Los Angeles; her brother Joseph A. Bussmann Jr.; and her four grandchildren: Grace, Jack, Brewer, and Brady.
Funeral arrangements are pending. Lindemann and Anderson said the family also hopes to celebrate a celebration of their life in Milwaukee.
The family created a website for people to post memories of her at www.forevermissed.com/elizabeth-bo-black/.
Chris Foran of the Journal Sentinel contributed to this story.
