Profile Text
Birth Name: Louis Leo Prima
Date of Birth: December 7, 1910
Place of Birth: New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Date of Death: August 24, 1978
Place of Death: New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Ethnicity: Italian/Sicilian
Louis Prima was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, entertainer, and trumpeter. He was nicknamed “The King of Swing.” He performed New Orleans jazz, swing music, jump blues, and later with a big band group and as a Vegas lounge act. He appeared in the films Start Cheering , Rose of Washington Square , Hey Boy! Hey Girl! ; The Continental Twist , The Jungle Book (1967), and Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins .
He was the son of Angelina (Caravella) and Anthony Prima. His father was born in New Orleans, to Italian parents. His mother was born on Ustica, a small Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Louis was married to jazz singer Gia Maione, until his death. He had a daughter with his former wife Louise Polizzi; a daughter with his former wife Tracelene Barrett; two children with his former wife, jazz and popular music singer Keely Smith; and two children, jazz singer and songwriter Lena Prima and jazz singer Louis Prima, Jr., with Gia.
Louis’s paternal grandfather was Leonardo/Leonard Di Prima/Prima (the son of Francesco Prima and Francesca Nastaci). Leonardo was a Sicilian emigrant, from Salaparuta, Trapani.
Louis’s paternal grandmother was named Elisabetta/Elizabetta/Elisabeth Antiochia.
Louis’s maternal grandfather was named Luigi Caravella.
Louis’s maternal grandmother was named Margherita Valente/Valenti. Margherita was born in Palermo, Sicily.
Sources: Genealogies of Louis Prima – https://www.wikitree.com https://www.geni.com
Genealogy of Louis Prima (focusing on his father’s side) – https://www.findagrave.com