New Orleans Times Picayune
July 30, 2021
Joyce Prima Ford, Louis Prima's eldest daughter, who built a career as a singer herself, died July 23 at St. Tammany Parish Hospital. She was 89. Of the famed New Orleans trumpeter and bandleader's six children, Joyce was his only one with Louise Polizzi, the first of his five wives. Prima and Polizzi divorced in 1936, when Joyce was 4.
She sang publicly for the first time at age 7. As a dark-haired teenage beauty, she found gigs with various bandleaders and at numerous venues around New Orleans.
"She had her father's voice, that deep raspy voice," said her eldest daughter, Diana Reidell. "She sang just like him, but as a woman."
Prima wasn't happy about his daughter following in his footsteps. He persuaded her to move to New York City, where he gave her a job promoting his records - in part to keep her off the stage. "He paid me not to sing," Ford told journalist David Cuthbert in 1992.
By 1952, she was back in New Orleans. She got married and had two daughters. After a divorce, she and her daughters lived for three years in the early 1960s at Pretty Acres, her father's north shore estate, which included a horse stable and golf course.
She rekindled her singing career at the Chalet Lounge in Covington, often bringing Reidell along. Her pedigree, looks and voice gave her access to star-studded circles. At one point she dated actor and singer Eddie Fisher, whose wives included Elizabeth Taylor. She appeared on the "Tonight Starring Jack Paar" television show.
In 1980, she met Sam Ford, a deejay at local radio station WWIW, which specialized in big band music. Polizzi often called in to Ford's show to request her ex-husband's music. Polizzi got to know Ford, and introduced him to her daughter.
They hit it off, became a couple and married in 1988.
She continued to sing at Larry's Villa and other New Orleans lounges, Carnival balls and private functions. She spent time with Phil Zito's band and worked with Al Hirt and Ronnie Kole. In the early 1980s, she rode in the Krewe of Amor in Chalmette as its grand marshal. During the 1992 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, she led a tribute to her late father, who died in 1978. At the Economy Hall tent, with her husband serving as emcee, she revisited favorites from the Prima catalog, including "Sing, Sing, Sing," "Che La Luna," "Oh, Marie" and "That Old Black Magic."
She and Ford lived for many years in Chalmette, where she volunteered at Chalmette Medical Center. Hurricane Katrina and the federal levee failures put 9 feet of water in their home. Pictures of big band leaders on the walls disintegrated, her husband said, but her rendering of the Virgin Mary remained unscathed.
After the storm, they moved to Abita Springs, where she continued her volunteer work at St. Tammany Parish Hospital. The BBC interviewed her in the late 2000s in the lobby of the hospital for a documentary about her father. She donated the small BBC honorarium she received to the hospital.
"You could look the world over and not find a more loving and caring person than Joyce Prima," said Sam Ford, who is 94. "She was an angel in disguise."
In recent years, she suffered from dementia. Her husband moved her into Trinity Trace Community Care Center, a nursing home near Mandeville. He sold their house in Abita Springs and, in early July, moved into Trinity Trace to be with her. However, her health declined rapidly after she fractured her thigh. Even though she couldn't remember how to do simple tasks, she could still sing. "I would go sing songs with her," Reidell said. "She would know every lyric, and her voice still had vibrato, to the very end."
In addition to her husband, survivors include two daughters, Reidell and Sheryl Conrad Duffourc; three grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and two great-great grandchildren. Visitation is Monday at 10 a.m. at Serenity Funeral Home, 20419 Louisiana 36 in Covington, followed by a funeral service at 11 a.m. Interment is at Southeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery in Slidell.
July 30, 2021
Joyce Prima Ford, Louis Prima's eldest daughter, who built a career as a singer herself, died July 23 at St. Tammany Parish Hospital. She was 89. Of the famed New Orleans trumpeter and bandleader's six children, Joyce was his only one with Louise Polizzi, the first of his five wives. Prima and Polizzi divorced in 1936, when Joyce was 4.
She sang publicly for the first time at age 7. As a dark-haired teenage beauty, she found gigs with various bandleaders and at numerous venues around New Orleans.
"She had her father's voice, that deep raspy voice," said her eldest daughter, Diana Reidell. "She sang just like him, but as a woman."
Prima wasn't happy about his daughter following in his footsteps. He persuaded her to move to New York City, where he gave her a job promoting his records - in part to keep her off the stage. "He paid me not to sing," Ford told journalist David Cuthbert in 1992.
By 1952, she was back in New Orleans. She got married and had two daughters. After a divorce, she and her daughters lived for three years in the early 1960s at Pretty Acres, her father's north shore estate, which included a horse stable and golf course.
She rekindled her singing career at the Chalet Lounge in Covington, often bringing Reidell along. Her pedigree, looks and voice gave her access to star-studded circles. At one point she dated actor and singer Eddie Fisher, whose wives included Elizabeth Taylor. She appeared on the "Tonight Starring Jack Paar" television show.
In 1980, she met Sam Ford, a deejay at local radio station WWIW, which specialized in big band music. Polizzi often called in to Ford's show to request her ex-husband's music. Polizzi got to know Ford, and introduced him to her daughter.
They hit it off, became a couple and married in 1988.
She continued to sing at Larry's Villa and other New Orleans lounges, Carnival balls and private functions. She spent time with Phil Zito's band and worked with Al Hirt and Ronnie Kole. In the early 1980s, she rode in the Krewe of Amor in Chalmette as its grand marshal. During the 1992 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, she led a tribute to her late father, who died in 1978. At the Economy Hall tent, with her husband serving as emcee, she revisited favorites from the Prima catalog, including "Sing, Sing, Sing," "Che La Luna," "Oh, Marie" and "That Old Black Magic."
She and Ford lived for many years in Chalmette, where she volunteered at Chalmette Medical Center. Hurricane Katrina and the federal levee failures put 9 feet of water in their home. Pictures of big band leaders on the walls disintegrated, her husband said, but her rendering of the Virgin Mary remained unscathed.
After the storm, they moved to Abita Springs, where she continued her volunteer work at St. Tammany Parish Hospital. The BBC interviewed her in the late 2000s in the lobby of the hospital for a documentary about her father. She donated the small BBC honorarium she received to the hospital.
"You could look the world over and not find a more loving and caring person than Joyce Prima," said Sam Ford, who is 94. "She was an angel in disguise."
In recent years, she suffered from dementia. Her husband moved her into Trinity Trace Community Care Center, a nursing home near Mandeville. He sold their house in Abita Springs and, in early July, moved into Trinity Trace to be with her. However, her health declined rapidly after she fractured her thigh. Even though she couldn't remember how to do simple tasks, she could still sing. "I would go sing songs with her," Reidell said. "She would know every lyric, and her voice still had vibrato, to the very end."
In addition to her husband, survivors include two daughters, Reidell and Sheryl Conrad Duffourc; three grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and two great-great grandchildren. Visitation is Monday at 10 a.m. at Serenity Funeral Home, 20419 Louisiana 36 in Covington, followed by a funeral service at 11 a.m. Interment is at Southeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery in Slidell.
New Orleans Times Picayune
July 30, 2021
Joyce Prima Ford, Louis Prima's eldest daughter, who built a career as a singer herself, died July 23 at St. Tammany Parish Hospital. She was 89. Of the famed New Orleans trumpeter and bandleader's six children, Joyce was his only one with Louise Polizzi, the first of his five wives. Prima and Polizzi divorced in 1936, when Joyce was 4.
She sang publicly for the first time at age 7. As a dark-haired teenage beauty, she found gigs with various bandleaders and at numerous venues around New Orleans.
"She had her father's voice, that deep raspy voice," said her eldest daughter, Diana Reidell. "She sang just like him, but as a woman."
Prima wasn't happy about his daughter following in his footsteps. He persuaded her to move to New York City, where he gave her a job promoting his records - in part to keep her off the stage. "He paid me not to sing," Ford told journalist David Cuthbert in 1992.
By 1952, she was back in New Orleans. She got married and had two daughters. After a divorce, she and her daughters lived for three years in the early 1960s at Pretty Acres, her father's north shore estate, which included a horse stable and golf course.
She rekindled her singing career at the Chalet Lounge in Covington, often bringing Reidell along. Her pedigree, looks and voice gave her access to star-studded circles. At one point she dated actor and singer Eddie Fisher, whose wives included Elizabeth Taylor. She appeared on the "Tonight Starring Jack Paar" television show.
In 1980, she met Sam Ford, a deejay at local radio station WWIW, which specialized in big band music. Polizzi often called in to Ford's show to request her ex-husband's music. Polizzi got to know Ford, and introduced him to her daughter.
They hit it off, became a couple and married in 1988.
She continued to sing at Larry's Villa and other New Orleans lounges, Carnival balls and private functions. She spent time with Phil Zito's band and worked with Al Hirt and Ronnie Kole. In the early 1980s, she rode in the Krewe of Amor in Chalmette as its grand marshal. During the 1992 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, she led a tribute to her late father, who died in 1978. At the Economy Hall tent, with her husband serving as emcee, she revisited favorites from the Prima catalog, including "Sing, Sing, Sing," "Che La Luna," "Oh, Marie" and "That Old Black Magic."
She and Ford lived for many years in Chalmette, where she volunteered at Chalmette Medical Center. Hurricane Katrina and the federal levee failures put 9 feet of water in their home. Pictures of big band leaders on the walls disintegrated, her husband said, but her rendering of the Virgin Mary remained unscathed.
After the storm, they moved to Abita Springs, where she continued her volunteer work at St. Tammany Parish Hospital. The BBC interviewed her in the late 2000s in the lobby of the hospital for a documentary about her father. She donated the small BBC honorarium she received to the hospital.
"You could look the world over and not find a more loving and caring person than Joyce Prima," said Sam Ford, who is 94. "She was an angel in disguise."
In recent years, she suffered from dementia. Her husband moved her into Trinity Trace Community Care Center, a nursing home near Mandeville. He sold their house in Abita Springs and, in early July, moved into Trinity Trace to be with her. However, her health declined rapidly after she fractured her thigh. Even though she couldn't remember how to do simple tasks, she could still sing. "I would go sing songs with her," Reidell said. "She would know every lyric, and her voice still had vibrato, to the very end."
In addition to her husband, survivors include two daughters, Reidell and Sheryl Conrad Duffourc; three grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and two great-great grandchildren. Visitation is Monday at 10 a.m. at Serenity Funeral Home, 20419 Louisiana 36 in Covington, followed by a funeral service at 11 a.m. Interment is at Southeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery in Slidell.
July 30, 2021
Joyce Prima Ford, Louis Prima's eldest daughter, who built a career as a singer herself, died July 23 at St. Tammany Parish Hospital. She was 89. Of the famed New Orleans trumpeter and bandleader's six children, Joyce was his only one with Louise Polizzi, the first of his five wives. Prima and Polizzi divorced in 1936, when Joyce was 4.
She sang publicly for the first time at age 7. As a dark-haired teenage beauty, she found gigs with various bandleaders and at numerous venues around New Orleans.
"She had her father's voice, that deep raspy voice," said her eldest daughter, Diana Reidell. "She sang just like him, but as a woman."
Prima wasn't happy about his daughter following in his footsteps. He persuaded her to move to New York City, where he gave her a job promoting his records - in part to keep her off the stage. "He paid me not to sing," Ford told journalist David Cuthbert in 1992.
By 1952, she was back in New Orleans. She got married and had two daughters. After a divorce, she and her daughters lived for three years in the early 1960s at Pretty Acres, her father's north shore estate, which included a horse stable and golf course.
She rekindled her singing career at the Chalet Lounge in Covington, often bringing Reidell along. Her pedigree, looks and voice gave her access to star-studded circles. At one point she dated actor and singer Eddie Fisher, whose wives included Elizabeth Taylor. She appeared on the "Tonight Starring Jack Paar" television show.
In 1980, she met Sam Ford, a deejay at local radio station WWIW, which specialized in big band music. Polizzi often called in to Ford's show to request her ex-husband's music. Polizzi got to know Ford, and introduced him to her daughter.
They hit it off, became a couple and married in 1988.
She continued to sing at Larry's Villa and other New Orleans lounges, Carnival balls and private functions. She spent time with Phil Zito's band and worked with Al Hirt and Ronnie Kole. In the early 1980s, she rode in the Krewe of Amor in Chalmette as its grand marshal. During the 1992 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, she led a tribute to her late father, who died in 1978. At the Economy Hall tent, with her husband serving as emcee, she revisited favorites from the Prima catalog, including "Sing, Sing, Sing," "Che La Luna," "Oh, Marie" and "That Old Black Magic."
She and Ford lived for many years in Chalmette, where she volunteered at Chalmette Medical Center. Hurricane Katrina and the federal levee failures put 9 feet of water in their home. Pictures of big band leaders on the walls disintegrated, her husband said, but her rendering of the Virgin Mary remained unscathed.
After the storm, they moved to Abita Springs, where she continued her volunteer work at St. Tammany Parish Hospital. The BBC interviewed her in the late 2000s in the lobby of the hospital for a documentary about her father. She donated the small BBC honorarium she received to the hospital.
"You could look the world over and not find a more loving and caring person than Joyce Prima," said Sam Ford, who is 94. "She was an angel in disguise."
In recent years, she suffered from dementia. Her husband moved her into Trinity Trace Community Care Center, a nursing home near Mandeville. He sold their house in Abita Springs and, in early July, moved into Trinity Trace to be with her. However, her health declined rapidly after she fractured her thigh. Even though she couldn't remember how to do simple tasks, she could still sing. "I would go sing songs with her," Reidell said. "She would know every lyric, and her voice still had vibrato, to the very end."
In addition to her husband, survivors include two daughters, Reidell and Sheryl Conrad Duffourc; three grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and two great-great grandchildren. Visitation is Monday at 10 a.m. at Serenity Funeral Home, 20419 Louisiana 36 in Covington, followed by a funeral service at 11 a.m. Interment is at Southeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery in Slidell.
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