Louis Prima
Louis Leo Prima was an American trumpeter, singer, entertainer, and bandleader. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he formed a seven-piece New Orleans–style jazz band in the late 1920s, fronted a swing combo in the 1930s and a big band group in the 1940s, helped to popularize jump blues in the late 1940s and early to mid 1950s, and performed frequently as a Vegas lounge act beginning in the 1950s.
From the 1940s through the 1960s, his music further encompassed early R&B and rock 'n' roll, boogie-woogie, and Italian folk music, such as the tarantella. Prima made prominent use of Italian music and language in his songs, blending elements of his Italian and Sicilian identity with jazz and swing music. At a time when ethnic musicians were discouraged from openly stressing their ethnicity, Prima's conspicuous embrace of his Sicilian ethnicity opened the doors for other Italian-American and ethnic American musicians to display their ethnic roots.
Prima is also known for providing the voice for the orangutan King Louie in the 1967 Disney film The Jungle Book. Description above from the Wikipedia article Louis Prima, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Acting
Movie
The Jungle Book
as King Louie of the Apes (voice)
1967
TV
The Ed Sullivan Show
as Self
1948
TV
The Colgate Comedy Hour
as Self
1950
Movie
Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins
as Himself
1975
TV
The Mike Douglas Show
as Self
1961
Movie
Start Cheering
as Band Conductor
1938
Movie
Manhattan Merry-Go-Round
as Self
1937
Movie
Rose of Washington Square
as Band Leader
1939
Movie
Swing It
as Louis Prima - Band Leader
1936
TV
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
as Self
1956
Movie
The Continental Twist
as Louis Evans
1961
Movie
Swing Cat's Jamboree
as Himself
1938
Movie
You Can't Have Everything
as Orchestra Leader
1937
Movie
Playgirls International
as Himself
1963
Movie
Senior Prom
as Himself
1958
Movie
The Star Reporter in Hollywood
as Louis Prima
1937
Movie
Rhythm on the Range
as Trumpet Player
1936
Movie
Louis Prima: The Wildest!
as Himself
1999
Movie
Jazz Ball
as Self (archive footage)
1956
Movie
Hey Boy! Hey Girl!
as Himself
1959
Movie
The Champ's a Chump
as Band Leader Louis
1936
TV
Legends
as Self (archive footage)
2006
Movie
Louis Prima: In Person!
2010
Movie
DTV: Golden Oldies
as Self
1984
