Promoter Says Verdict No Substitute for Concerts

Jack Berwick says he loves the city of Burbank. But he speculates that the city of Burbank may not exactly love him at the moment.

Berwick, 55, a former concert promoter who lives in the San Fernando Valley “outside Burbank,” said he has been torn by mixed emotions since a Los Angeles Superior Court jury Tuesday awarded him a $4.6-million judgment in his breach-of-contract lawsuit against the city.

Berwick said he felt sorry for the current Burbank administration, which was not in power when he filed his suit in 1979. “I’m sorry they are now bearing the brunt of a problem which other people made for them, but a contract is a contract,” Berwick said.

“The contract is very clearly stated, and they broke it.”

Ban on Rock Concerts

The jury, by a vote of 11-1, agreed with Berwick’s allegation that the city breached a contract with his promotion firm, Cinevision Corp., when it prevented him from staging rock concerts at the city-owned Starlight Bowl in 1979. Burbank officials banned shows by performers such as Jackson Browne and Todd Rundgren, arguing that they would attract narcotics users, homosexuals and anti-nuclear demonstrators.

“Of course I’m glad that we won, but I’m also sorry that this happened in the first place,” Berwick said Wednesday as he reflected on the six-year fight.

“I feel we would have made at least that much money at the Starlight if we hadn’t been harassed by the city. The officials at that time exaggerated their claims to the good people of Burbank, who didn’t know the truth. But the jury found out the truth.”

He said Cinevision could have made more than $9 million if he had been allowed to present the concerts, and if the city had not blocked his attempt to exercise a five-year renewal clause that would have authorized him to operate the Starlight Bowl, now known as the Starlight Amphitheatre, until 1985.

No Plans for Money

“If they had let us go ahead, the Starlight would be right up there now with the Universal Amphitheater and the Greek Theatre,” Berwick said.

Though jubilant over his victory, Berwick is not celebrating yet. He knows his fight is not over, and he is making no immediate plans for the money.

Burbank officials, still reeling Wednesday from the legal defeat, have indicated they plan to seek a new trial or to try to reduce the amount of the award, which could prolong the conflict another two to three years. City officials said that, if the award is upheld, the money will have to come from the city’s tax-supported general fund and will prompt budget cuts.

The decision marked the second severe blow in three months to Burbank’s long fight to ban rock concerts in city-owned facilities.

In a separate case involving Berwick’s claim that his constitutional rights were violated by the city’s ban, the U.S. Supreme Court in April refused to hear Burbank’s appeal of a ruling by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that the city improperly canceled the concerts because of the “basis of content” and other “arbitrary factors.”

In the decision, the Court of Appeals declared that rock music, like other music, is a “form of expression” guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

‘Genesis Sold Out’

As Berwick talked of his victory, he recalled the days when he was in charge of the outdoor Starlight facility in 1976.

“We only presented one show in 1975 because we signed the contract too late to get anyone for that season,” he said. “But, at our first show in 1976, the group Genesis sold out in 45 minutes. Our next six shows sold out, and we filled up 95% of capacity with the rest of the shows.”

The Starlight can accommodate 6,500 people, Berwick said. At the time, the Greek Theatre seated only 4,880, and the Universal Amphitheater held fewer than 6,000. Those facilities have since added seats.

Berwick said city officials such as former councilmen Jim Richman and E. Daniel Remy charged that Berwick was booking too many youth-oriented shows. The city turned down all but two acts that Berwick proposed for the 1979 season, including Browne, Rundgren, Patti Smith, Al Stewart, Roxy Music and Blue Oyster Cult.

‘Put Me Out of Business’

When the city refused to let him renew his contract, “they put me out of business and 150 Cinevision employees out of a job,” Berwick said. “I didn’t wind up penniless, but it put me out of business for myself. So I sued.”

The Starlight was dormant until 1983, but another promoter was unable to book even one act for the summer. In 1984, another promoter ran into financial difficulties and filed for protection under the bankruptcy laws after accumulating almost $180,000 in debts. The Starlight is now without an operator.

“Burbank has ruined its credibility with the entertainment industry,” Berwick said. “Agents don’t want their performers to go to places where they have to be voted on by the city before they can perform.”

But Berwick, who now runs a poster-art and sign business, said he still enjoys visiting Burbank. “I don’t feel any hostility toward the people of Burbank,” he said. “It’s a beautiful little city. I have friends there and I go there all the time.”

He chuckled and added, “I just hope I can still go there.”