Louis Prima (December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an Italian American entertainer, singer, actor, songwriter, and trumpeter. He was referred to as the King of the Swingers.
Prima was born into a musical family in New Orleans. His family emigrated from Sicily, and after a brief stay in Argentina settled in the United States. Prima studied violin for several years as a child. His older brother Leon was a well regarded local bandleader. Prima was proud of his heritage, and made a point of letting the audience know at every performance that he was Italian-American and from New Orleans. His singing and playing showed that he absorbed many of the same influences as his fellow Crescent City musician, Louis Armstrong, particularly in his hoarse voice and scat singing.
Orleans, and St. Louis. These trips were sometimes made in the course of one night of driving. The crew always travelled by car, since it was the cheapest option.
He moved to Los Angeles where he headlined at the Famous Door nightclub. In 1948, he hired sixteen year old Dorothy Keely Smith, as his singer and their onstage chemistry was immediate. He would make her Mrs. Prima number four in 1952. In 1954, Prima accepted a booking at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas and his late
show became one of the city’s hottest attractions.
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| Prima, Smith and Elvis |
show became one of the city’s hottest attractions.
In January 1961, Prima was invited by Frank Sinatra to perform in the inaugural gala for President John F. Kennedy; the two played "Old Black Magic" together. The constant performances and Prima's infidelities were too much for Smith. After finishing up their contract at the Desert Inn, she filed for divorce at the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court of Nevada in Las Vegas. Prima married another singer, Gia Maione, after which he continued to work in Vegas.
Prima suffered a heart attack in 1973. Two years later, following headaches and episodes of memory loss, he sought medical attention, and was diagnosed with a brain stem tumour. He suffered a cerebral haemorrhage and went into a coma following surgery. He never recovered, and died three years later, in 1978, having been moved back to New Orleans. He was buried in Metairie Cemetery in a gray marble crypt topped by a figure of Gabriel, the trumpeter-angel, sculpted in 1997 by Russian-born sculptor Alexei Kazantsev. The inscription on the crypt's door quotes the lyrics from one of his hits: "When the end comes, I know, they'll say, 'just a gigolo' as life goes on without me…" (Info edited mainly from Wikipedia)