‘The Jungle Book’ star ‘cried’ over Frank Sinatra’s ’70s comeback, daughter says

Lena Prima, daughter of “The King of Swing,” wants to help set the record straight.

For years, many have wondered how her father Louis Prima and Frank Sinatra – two Italian crooners who heated up Sin City – felt about each other. She insisted there was no rivalry between the two legends.

“[My dad] loved and respected him,” Prima told Fox News Digital.

Prima, a fellow singer, is keeping her father’s love of music alive. She has an ongoing Vegas-style residency at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, Louisiana. The patriarch gave some of his final performances at the swanky French Quarter hotel before he died in 1978 at age 67.

One thing she vividly remembers is the late trumpeter’s admiration for Ol’ Blue Eyes.

“There was a point in the ‘70s where Frank Sinatra had a comeback special that was televised,” she recalled. “[My dad] put chairs right in front of the TV set. He made us all sit there and watch Frank Sinatra. He just cried the whole time stating he was the greatest singer in the world. ‘Right now, you are seeing the greatest singer in the world.’”

“I’ll never forget how much he respected Frank Sinatra,” she shared. “… I do know that he absolutely admired him.”

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In 1958, Louis and his singing partner Keely Smith, who was also his wife, made a TV appearance on the short-lived “Frank Sinatra Show.” During a comedic sketch, Sinatra asked the bob-haired songstress what they were going to sing.

“We?” Smith replied after jokingly telling Sinatra she didn’t need Louis.

“You and me,” Sinatra said.

“Oh, please,” she said. “I work alone.”

But when cameras stopped rolling, Sinatra wanted to sign Smith to an album of ballads, The Los Angeles Times reported. According to the outlet, this reportedly put a strain on her already crumbling marriage to Louis. They divorced personally and professionally in 1961. By then, Smith was focused on being in more control of her career as a solo act, setting up her own label, Keely Records.

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In 1962 Louis met Gia Maione – Lena Prima’s mother. She became his fifth and final wife the following year. Sinatra went on to sign Smith to his label, Reprise Records, and they recorded their duet “So in Love” that same year. Smith later claimed to The Desert Sun that Sinatra had asked her to marry him when her relationship with Louis was nearly over. However, she rejected him, believing that their union wouldn’t have lasted. 

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Smith married Jimmy Bowen, who produced hit records with Sinatra for Reprise. The couple divorced in 1969.

The star, widely credited for being the only female member of the Rat Pack, passed away in 2017 at age 89.

Prima insisted that when it came to her famous father, there were no hard feelings. Instead, he simply enjoyed life.

“My dad was not like that,” she explained. “I think honestly back in those days, everybody supported everybody. That’s how the Rat Pack got started. They all came to see my dad after their shows, and he would just let them all get up on stage and cut up and be funny. And it was all part of the show. I think my dad loved that and so did everybody else. I think entertainers really supported each other [in those days].”

Prima described how in 1961, Sinatra personally invited her father to perform at the inaugural gala for President John F. Kennedy. The two men performed “Old Black Magic” together.

“There was a commemorative plaque in our home thanking him for his performance,” she said. “I did later see a video in a documentary where they showed him over Frank Sinatra’s shoulder, kind of whispering words into his ear as they were making up a funny song about Kennedy and singing ‘Old Black Magic.’ And that’s so my dad. That’s what he did.”

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“And my parents, they loved each other,” she said. “My mom loved my dad, my dad loved my mom. There was just so much love, laughter and music in our household. My mom was also a wonderful singer. There was constant music and dancing in our house.”

Louis, whose career spanned four decades, had hits with “Jump, Jive, An’ Wail,” “Buono Sera,” “Just a Gigolo” and the now TikTok favorite “Che La Luna,” just to name a few. With Smith, they recorded three songs that reached the Billboard Hot 100: “That Old Black Magic,” “Bei Mir Bist Du Schon” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.”

“As far back as I could remember, I felt that my dad was such a magical person,” said Prima. “He had so much charisma and joy about him. He was like a big cartoon character. I always felt he was special… The first time I saw him perform was when I got to sit in the audience as a small child, which didn’t ever happen. His children weren’t ever allowed, but for some reason, I was allowed to go sit in the audience.”

“I was really young, but I’ll never forget it,” she gushed. “The people were all dressed up. It was Vegas, so you heard the sounds of the slot machines and the glasses clinking. And then the band started. The curtain opened, and they just blew the roof off the place. People went crazy. And when they introduced my dad, he came out so proud with his trumpet. It was just the most exciting thing. It sticks in my mind to this day, that memory of seeing him perform live.”

In 1967, Louis voiced King Louie of the Apes in the Disney animated film “The Jungle Book” and recorded “I Wanna Be Like You (The Monkey Song).” It’s a track Prima said she likes to play to a delighted audience.

“He wanted to do more things for Disney,” she said. “He recorded a couple of albums. He recorded a ‘Winnie the Pooh’ album, and he recorded a ‘Mary Poppins’ album. He loved it. He was really hopeful that he could do more things. He was working on something called ‘The Rescuers’ before he got sick. He never got to finish that. But he absolutely loved it. He was the perfect King Louie.”

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Prima noted that, unlike some stars from Hollywood’s golden era, her father had a positive experience skyrocketing to fame. And when he began performing in Vegas, his Hollywood pals cheered him on.

“The reason that he was such a success in Vegas was that all those stars and friends he made in Hollywood all came to see him when he opened there,” she said. “It was this new glamorous place in the desert, you know? And they all showed up.”

“He had a club called The Famous Door where everybody that was famous came in the club and signed the door,” she continued. “In the ‘70s, a friend of his kept that door for him… He had it sent to our house, and we got to see the door. Everybody’s signature was on there. Walt Disney, Clark Gable, Lucille Ball – just everybody you can imagine. It’s in the Smithsonian now. He had a really great experience in Hollywood, and it led him to Vegas, where he had major success.”

Today, Prima hopes to continue delivering the same charm her father was known for.

“I think the message of my dad was joy,” she said. “Happiness – embrace the moment. And just have fun.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.