Louis Prima Tomb- Lakelawn Metairie Cemetery
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Louis is one of those New Orleans icons who goes through a resurgence every few years, and I confess that I just love the guy.
A larger than life personality, he’s remembered as much for his movies and his Vegas act as his music. Prima was born and raised in downtown New Orleans, working in the pit of the Saenger theater before moving onto Bourbon Street’s Red Door and the big time after Benny Goodman had him write several songs for him which became hits.
Five wives and several fortunes won and lost later, he fell into a coma due to a brain tumor in 1975, hanging on for three years before his death. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery briefly before moving into this fabulous tomb, with the Angel Gabriel atop it to welcome him home. (EDIT: Thanks to the fabulous Kim, we know the sculptor was Alexei Kazantsev and it was placed in the mid-90s.)
The inscription reads:
Dec. 7 1910-Aug 24, 1978
A LEGEND
When the end comes
I know
they’ll say,
“Just a Gigolo”
As life goes on without me.Lovingly, your little family
Gia
Lena Ann
and Louis Jr.
Gia was his last wife, and although he had five children only those they had together are on the inscription. She now manages LouisPrima.com, and keeps his name alive.
Sadly, there aren’t many videos out there of him performing live, but here’s one of the song from the inscription. The sound doesn’t quite match the action, but it’s a lot of fun anyway.
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3 Comments
April 7th, 2009 at 7:34 am
FYI, the angel on top of the tomb was comissioned by Gia and carved by my friend, Alexei Kazantsev, about 12 years ago.
April 7th, 2009 at 8:00 am
Amazing- thanks much for the info, Kim! It’s an absolutely gorgeous piece of work.
Gia sounds like she’s got a lot of heart, and it’s fantastic that she’s still out there keeping Prima in people’s ears.
August 22nd, 2009 at 9:37 am
It’s an amazing body of work Louie Prima left, and it still stands the test of time. I listen to him every time I’m in my car. He and Keely put out some good tunes, and Gia and Louie kept the music going.
I can understand why Gia did not include Louie’s first family on his tombstone, after all it’s not that unusual. But still, it would have been nice if this marker reflected all his children, they were after all what he co-created and left behind.
I enjoy this website and the fact that is a place for we Prima fans to be able to go and see clips of his performances and hear his great music.