We have already shared three packed scrapbooks that Louis Armstrong compiled in the last two years of his life, each one chock full of Louis-related photos, articles, telegrams, and other ephemera to make any Armstrong lover’s heart sing. Moving in numerical order, today we hit Armstrong’s Scrapbook 4…not quite one for the Satchmophiles out there, but if you love old show business, this might provide some smiles.
It turns out that Louis and Lucille spent the evening of March 23, 1970 at Madison Square Garden, taking part in a star-studded benefit evening featuring Barnum and Bailey’s “Greatest Show on Earth” circus, with all proceeds going to UNICEF (the United National Children’s Fund for Nigerian relief). At the end of the event, organizer Joanne Carson sent a photo album to Louis and Lucille, complete with their names printed on the cover. Louis hung a number “4” on it with a small piece of tape and voila, a scrapbook was born:
Since you can’t tell your players without a scorecard, here’s the program with the list of celebrities who took part:
Thus, we start with the woman who made it all possible, Joanne Carson, along with “Ringmaster” Danny Kaye, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 1954:
Here’s Ed Sullivan and his wife Sylvia:
Now we’re talking–Louis and Lucille!
Bennett Cerf riding on top of the stagecoach:
Here are some of the brave souls who agreed to agreed to ride elephants–from left to right: Joanne Carson, Alan King, Suzy Knickerbocker, Soupy Sales, Celeste Holm, Godfrey Cambridge, Charlotte Curtis, and William B. Williams:
Alternate take, beginning with Celeste Holm, Godfrey Cambridge, Charlotte Curtis, William B. Williams, Jimmy Stewart’s wife Glorida, their daughters Kelly and Judy, and Rodney Dangerfield:
Some close-ups, beginning with Joanne Carson:
Alan King:
Suzy Knickerbocker (real name Aileen Mehle):
Soupy Sales:
Celeste Holm:
Godfrey Cambridge:
Charlotte Curtis:
William B. Williams:
Gloria Stewart:
Rodney Dangerfield (who fell off the elephant once the event got going; insert your own Rodney-esque one-liner here):
The great team of Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara (could young son Ben have been in attendance?):
Celeste Holm and Bozo the Clown:
Danny Kaye, Joanne Carson, and, I assume, a Barnum and Bailey professional:
Danny Kaye perhaps going over a script; do the others look familiar?
Soupy Sales, Godfrey Cambridge, and what appears to be a Barnum and Bailey clown/comedian:
This took a bit of digging but I think that’s the show’s director, choreographer Richard Barstow with Anne Meara and…..any ideas?
And that’s Charlotte Curtis on the left and Suzy Knickerbocker on the right but who is the woman in the middle? If it helps, the only folks listed in the program who have not appeared in any photos are the dancers Bud and Cece Robinson, football palyer Kyle Rote, CBS meteorologist Frank Fields (also, not mentioned in the program but mentioned in Suzy Knickerbocker’s column, Danny Kaye’s wife Sylvia Fine):
Ed and Sylvia Fine having the time of their lives, with Bennett Cerf smiling away behind Ed:
Gloria Stewart and daughters Judy and Kelly:
For years, the Louis Armstrong House Museum identified the following photo as Louis with famed clown Emmett Kelly….but our man in New Orleans, Jon Pult, has corrected the record to let us know that it’s actually German-born clown Otto Griebling, whose bio mentions that he often got confused with Kelly. Thanks, Jon!
Soupy Sales and Rodney Dangerfield enjoying the show; not sure who the woman is in between them?
Joanne Carson and Otto Griebling:
Another Barnum clown (the three visible letters on his hat are “ZOO”–perhaps Zoot? Zoom?) with Alan King:
Ed Sullivan and Otto Griebling:
Danny Kaye, Joanne Carson and some of the UNICEF kids, I assume:
That concludes the photographic portion of the scrapbook, but the next page has Suzy Knickerbocker’s Daily News column about the event, published on March 25, 1970:
This is followed by Lucille and Louis’s UNICEF “Certificate of Appreciation” for participating in the event:
A letter from UNICEF dated June 5, thanking Louis and Lucille again:
And finally, a sweet handwritten note from Joanne Carson:
If you can’t read it, it says, “Louis + Lucille dear — There are not words enough to thank you for all your efforts above and beyond the call of duty and for making the 1st UNICEF Circus Benefit such a smashing success!!! you’ve got a date for the 2nd one next year….Affectionately, Joanne.”
Alas, there’d be no second benefit for Louis and Lucille as one year later, Louis would be in intensive care at Beth Israel Hospital. But he sure seemed to have a good time at the circus in March 1970 and we’re glad he was able to document it in Scrapbook 4. Here’s the back cover:
That includes this slightly off-the-beaten path post but we’ll have a lot more to share from Pops’s scrapbooks in the weeks to come.