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ent001379-036
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    University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Libraries

    Page No. 5 And what of Louis Prima and the people who work with him? In 1954, Louis discovered the exciting talenis of Sam Butera, one of the outstanding tenor saxophone players in the enter- tainment field. And only last year, Louis Prima unveiled in the person of singing star Gia Maione, one of the greatest talent discoverys in the last ten years. From these roots sprang an entirely new concept in excitement. Being a man of vision, Louis realized that with ballrooms, theaters, and supper clubs discontinuing bands, the thing to do was to create an act - an act that could be booked into any club .. .small or large. Louis Prima created his act and the results ushered in a new era in show business. Here is some of the record: 1954........ The Louis Prima show opened in the Lounge of the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas. From the first night word spread like wildfire that "this was the place. " The show was signed to an unprecedented 30 weeks a year. 1958......... The show opened a 7 day headline date at the Chez Paree in Chicago. It was the dead of winter and the i ciest and worst weather Chicagoans could remember. But the Louis Prima Show heated up the town and blasted themselves an attendance and gross receipts record never before known in night club circles. It made a shambles of record appearances held by Martin & Lewis, Danny Thomas, Frank Sinatra, and Lena Hotne. it was so great the Chez owners quickly coerced Louis into signing a return engagement in April.. .less than four months later. 1959........ As a favor to a friend, Louis took the Christmas Holiday booking at Hollywood's Moulin Rouge. This put Los Angeles into a frenzy and gave hope to every night club owner that wiih the right headliners, L. A. 's defunct night life would return. 1959........ At New York's Copacabana, the Louis Prima Show evoked this message of gratiiude from owner, Jules Podell: "We just finished tabulating the figures from your two- week engagement and want you to know you have the unique honor and distinction of racking up the greatest record, both in attendance and gross receipts in the history of the Copacabana. That's how the story grows and goes. The praise and demand never slackens. Everywhere Louis Prima appears, from Harrah's at Lake Tahoe through Basin Street East and the Latin Casino on the Atlantic Coast, records are broken.