Louis Prima

Louis Prima

Birth : 1910-12-07, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Death : 1978-08-24

Profile

Louis Prima

Movies

Louis Prima: In Person!
A retrospective of rare performances highlighting the many phases of Prima's remarkable 50+ year career. Culled from the basements and shelves of TV and motion picture archives, this DVD presents the very best of those performances - not only the BEST, but the rarest! Featured artists include Keely Smith, Gia Maione, Sam Butera, Jimmy Vincent, The Witnesses, and Sarah Spiegel.
Louis Prima: The Wildest!
Himself
Documentary about the mid-20th century Vegas bandleader and trumpeter Louis Prima, who showed the world what a rock show could be.
DTV: Golden Oldies
Himself
Compilation of DTV music videos from on The Disney Channel, combining tunes from the 1940s through the 1960s with footage of Disney animation.
Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins
Himself
Hapless driving instructor and former Gunnery Sergeant Rafferty, living in squalor near Hollywood, California, doesn't put up too much of a fight when two ladies hitch a ride and attempt to kidnap him in their attempt to get to New Orleans; while initially put off, Rafferty finds he's charmed by the kooky pair of misfits and the three of them drive to Las Vegas, Nevada and later Tucson, Arizona, where their bond eventually unravels.
The Jungle Book
King Louie (voice)
The boy Mowgli makes his way to the man-village with Bagheera, the wise panther. Along the way he meets jazzy King Louie, the hypnotic snake Kaa and the lovable, happy-go-lucky bear Baloo, who teaches Mowgli "The Bare Necessities" of life and the true meaning of friendship.
Playgirls International
Himself
Another nudist "documentary" from Doris Wishman. A print of this film has yet to surface.
The Continental Twist
Louis Evans
Sam Butera and the Witnesses perform several Twist numbers to save a small New Orleans nightclub and raise the bail to get Louis Prima out of jail.
Hey Boy! Hey Girl!
Himself
Meant primarily as TV fare, this standard, song-filled romantic drama stars Louis Prima as himself, and his real-life wife Keely Smith as Dorothy Spencer, a devout woman with a good singing voice. Dorothy is active in her local parish which like all parishes, is constantly thinking of ways to raise funds. One of the needy projects is a boys' camp, so when Dorothy is approached by Louis Prima to sing with his band she agrees only on one condition -- that he perform a concert benefit for the parish church and boys' camp. The interactions between Dorothy and Prima lead toward romance and a happy ending, as well as a popular album with the same title song featured in this film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi (NY Times Review).
Senior Prom
Himself
At a college party, a girl named Gay (Jill Corey) meets a guy named Tom (Paul Hampton) and they soon fall in love. Tom's bandmate, who goes by the nickname "Dog" with his own girlfriend whose nickname is "Flip", form a friendship quartet together with Gay and Tom as they plan for the Senior Prom. But Gay's childhood friend Carter has been convinced they are meant to be engaged and gets rather petty about her new love. Tom is also an aspiring singer whose debut record didn't take off when first released, but may be in for a revival. Which stars will end up performing at their Senior Prom? Tune in to find out!
Jazz Ball
Self (archive footage)
A made-for-TV musical revue, compiled from soundies and film and TV performances by jazz greats from the 1930s to the 1950s.
Rose of Washington Square
Band Leader
Rose Sargent, a Roaring '20s singer, becomes a Ziegfeld Follies star as her criminal husband gets deeper in trouble.
Swing Cat's Jamboree
Himself
"Swing cat" Louis Prima and his jazz quartette play songs and accompany featured singers and dancers.
Start Cheering
Band Conductor
After retiring from movies to get an education, a man discovers his ex-staff is trying to have him expelled.
Manhattan Merry-Go-Round
Louis Prima Band
In this musical comedy, a crooked record producer uses his mob connections to force performers to do their stuff. The trouble really begins when the gangster's strong-arm tactics nearly cause a singer to lose his fiancée. A wide variety of entertainers appear including cowboy crooner Gene Autry, baseball hero Joe DiMaggio, and big band stars Cab Calloway, Ted Lewis, and the Kay Thompson Singers. Songs include "Mamma I Wanna Make Rhythm," "Manhattan Merry-Go-Round," "Heaven?," "I Owe You," and "It's Round-up Time in Reno."
The Star Reporter in Hollywood
Louis Prima
Part of Paramount Headliner: Hollywood Star Reporter series
You Can't Have Everything
Orchestra Leader
Starving playwright Judith Wells meets playboy writer of musicals, George Macrae, over a plate of stolen spaghetti. He persuades producer Sam Gordon to buy her ridiculous play "North Winds" just to improve his romantic chances, and even persuades her to sing in the sort of show she pretends to despise. But just when their romance is going well, Gordon's former flame Lulu reveals the ace up her sleeve...
Rhythm on the Range
Trumpet Player
Cowboy Jeff Larabee returns from the east and meets Doris Halloway, a young girl, that he regards as a vagabond, till he learns that she's the owner of the farm where he works. He tries to win her heart, but without success, until she is endangered by gangsters
Swing It
Louis Prima - Band Leader
Louis Prima, between song numbers, tells how he happened to get a job in a Hollywood cafe playing music while a couple, unrelated to anything else, play a slot machine in the background. This short was reissued in 1944 and again in 1952. Lucille Ball has a bit part. Song numbers include; "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans", "Up a Lazy River", "Dinah","Basin Street Blues" and "Johnny Get Your Gun."
The Champ's a Chump
Band Leader Louis
As a ploy to sign a championship college boxer to a contract, Big Boy enrolls in the college the youth is attending.