Editing Louis Armstrong (section)

==Personal life==
===Pronunciation of name===
The Louis Armstrong House Museum website states:

{{blockquote|Judging from home recorded tapes now in our Museum Collections, Louis pronounced his own name as "Lewis." On his 1964 record "Hello, Dolly", he sings, "This is Lewis, Dolly", but in 1933, he made a record called "Laughin' Louie." Many broadcast announcers, fans, and acquaintances called him "Louie", and in a videotaped interview from 1983, Lucille Armstrong calls her late husband "Louie" as well. Musicians and close friends usually called him "Pops".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.louisarmstronghouse.org/faq/|title=FAQ – Louis Armstrong House Museum|work=louisarmstronghouse.org|access-date=June 14, 2017|archive-date=August 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808074334/https://www.louisarmstronghouse.org/faq/|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

In a memoir written for [[Robert Goffin]] between 1943 and 1944, Armstrong stated, "All white folks call me Louie", suggesting that he himself did not, or that no whites addressed him by one of his nicknames such as Pops.<ref>{{cite book
 |last1=Armstrong
 |first1=Louis
 |last2=Brothers
 |first2=Thomas
 |year=2001
 |title=Louis Armstrong, In His Own Words: Selected Writings
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fdxDDe-fb8sC&pg=PA109
 |page=109
 |location=New York
 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]
 |isbn=978-0195140460
 |access-date=December 8, 2014
|archive-date=September 15, 2015
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915205007/https://books.google.com/books?id=fdxDDe-fb8sC&pg=PA109
 |url-status=live
 }}</ref><ref>Goffin, Robert. ''Horn of Plenty: The Story of Louis Armstrong''. Da Capo Press, 1977. {{ISBN|0306774305}}{{page needed|date=December 2022}}</ref> That said, Armstrong was registered as "Lewie" for the [[United States Census, 1920|1920 U.S. Census]]. On various live records, he is called "Louie" on stage, such as on the 1952 "Can Anyone Explain?" from the live album ''In Scandinavia vol.1''. The same applies to his 1952 studio recording of the song "Chloe", where the choir in the background sings "Louie ... Louie", with Armstrong responding, "What was that? Somebody called my name?". "Lewie" is the French pronunciation of "Louis" and is commonly used in Louisiana.

===Family===
[[File:Lucille Wilson and Louis Armstrong.jpg|thumb|Armstrong with Lucille Wilson, c. 1960s]]

Armstrong was performing at the Brick House in [[Gretna, Louisiana]] when he met Daisy Parker, a local prostitute, and started an affair as a client. Armstrong returned to Gretna on several occasions to visit her. He found the courage to look for her home to see her away from work. There, Armstrong found out she had a [[Common-law marriage in the United States|common-law husband]]. Not long after that, Parker traveled to Armstrong's home on Perdido Street<ref name="bergreen134">Bergreen (1997), 134–137.</ref> and they checked into Kid Green's hotel that evening. On the next day, March 19, 1919, Armstrong and Parker married at City Hall.<ref name="bergreen134" /><ref name="Collier2">{{cite book |last=Collier |first=James Lincoln |author-link=James Lincoln Collier |title=Louis Armstrong: An American Genius |date=1983 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0195033779 |page=[https://archive.org/details/louisarmstro00jam/page/81 81] |url=https://archive.org/details/louisarmstro00jam |url-access=registration }}</ref> They adopted a three-year-old boy, Clarence, whose mother, Armstrong's cousin Flora, had died soon after giving birth. Clarence Armstrong was mentally disabled as a result of a head injury at an early age. Armstrong spent the rest of his life taking care of him.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0316,giddins,43368,22.html |title=Satchuated |first=Gary |last=Giddins |newspaper=[[Village Voice]] |date=April 16–22, 2003 |access-date=October 17, 2007 |archive-date=June 5, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605231223/http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0316,giddins,43368,22.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> His marriage to Parker ended when they separated in 1923.

On February 4, 1924, Armstrong married [[Lil Hardin Armstrong]], King Oliver's pianist. She had divorced her first husband a few years earlier. Armstrong's second wife helped him develop his career, but they separated in 1931 and divorced in 1938. Armstrong then married Alpha Smith.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.redhotjazz.com/lil.html |title=Lillian Hardin Armstrong |website=RedHotJazz.com |access-date=January 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023073640/http://www.redhotjazz.com/lil.html |archive-date=October 23, 2013 }}</ref> His relationship with Alpha began while he was playing at the Vendome during the 1920s and continued long after.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Brothers|first=Thomas|title=Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism|publisher=W.W. Norton & Company|year=2014|isbn=978-0393065824|location=New York|pages=318}}</ref> Armstrong's marriage to her lasted four years; they divorced in 1942. He then married Lucille Wilson, a singer at the [[Cotton Club]] in New York, in October 1942. They remained married until his death in 1971.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.louisarmstrongfoundation.org/louis.php |website=LouisArmstrongFoundation.org |title=Biography of Louis Daniel Armstrong |publisher=Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation |access-date=January 16, 2015 |archive-date=December 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228222300/http://www.louisarmstrongfoundation.org/louis.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Armstrong's marriages produced no offspring.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.louisarmstronghouse.org/about/faq.htm# |title=Louis Armstrong: FAQ |publisher=[[Louis Armstrong House]] Museum |access-date=December 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116083432/http://www.louisarmstronghouse.org/about/faq.htm |archive-date=January 16, 2013}}</ref> However, in December 2012, 57-year-old Sharon Preston-Folta claimed to be his daughter from a 1950s affair between Armstrong and Lucille "Sweets" Preston, a dancer at the Cotton Club.<ref>{{cite news |title=Louis Armstrong's secret daughter revealed, 42 years after his death |first= Jacqui |last= Goddard |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=December 15, 2012 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9747518/Louis-Armstrongs-secret-daughter-revealed-42-years-after-his-death.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121219071602/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9747518/Louis-Armstrongs-secret-daughter-revealed-42-years-after-his-death.html |archive-date=December 19, 2012 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In a 1955 letter to his manager, Joe Glaser, Armstrong affirmed his belief that Preston's newborn baby was his daughter, and ordered Glaser to pay a monthly allowance of $400 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|500|1955}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars){{inflation-fn|US}} to mother and child.<ref name="Collier3">{{cite book |last=Collier |first=James Lincoln |author-link=James Lincoln Collier |title=Louis Armstrong: An American Genius |date=1983 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0195033779 |page=[https://archive.org/details/louisarmstro00jam/page/158 158] |url=https://archive.org/details/louisarmstro00jam |url-access=registration }}</ref>

===Personality===
[[File:LouisArmstrong1959.jpg|thumb|Armstrong in 1959 during a night concert in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam]]
Armstrong was colorful and charismatic. His autobiography vexed some biographers and historians because Armstrong had a habit of telling tales, particularly about his early childhood when he was less scrutinized, and his embellishments lack consistency.<ref name="bergreen7">Bergreen (1997), pp. 7–11.</ref>

In addition to being an entertainer, Armstrong was a leading personality. He was beloved by an American public that usually offered little access beyond their public celebrity to even the most significant black performers, and Armstrong was able to live a private life of access and privilege afforded to few other black Americans during that era.<ref name="bergreen7"/>

Armstrong generally remained politically neutral, which sometimes alienated him from other black Americans who expected him to use his prominence within white America to become more outspoken during the [[civil rights movement]]. However, Armstrong criticized [[President Eisenhower]] for not acting forcefully on civil rights.<ref name="bergreen7"/>

===Health problems===
The trumpet is notoriously hard on the [[lips]], and Armstrong suffered from lip damage over most of his life. This was due to Armstrong's aggressive playing style and preference for narrow mouthpieces that would stay in place more easily but tended to dig into the soft flesh of his inner lip. During his 1930s European tour, Armstrong suffered an ulceration so severe that he had to stop playing entirely for a year. Eventually, Armstrong took to using salves and creams on his lips and also cutting off scar tissue with a razor blade. By the 1950s, Armstrong was an official spokesman for Ansatz-Creme Lip Salve.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/28/nyregion/louis-armstrongs-lip-balm.html |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160831214922/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/28/nyregion/louis-armstrongs-lip-balm.html |archive-date=August 31, 2016 |title=Louis Armstrong's Lip Balm |first=Bill |last=Schulz |date=August 26, 2016 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

During a backstage meeting with trombonist Marshall Brown in 1959, Armstrong was advised to see a doctor and receive proper treatment for his lips instead of relying on home remedies. However, Armstrong did not get around to that until his final years, by which point his health was failing, and the doctors considered surgery too risky.<ref>"Louis Armstrong: An American Genius", [[James Lincoln Collier|James L. Collier]], 231 pp.</ref>

In 1959, Armstrong was hospitalized for [[pneumonia]] while on tour in Italy. Doctors were concerned about his lungs and heart, but by the end of June, Armstrong rallied on.<ref>"Satchmo Rallies, Jokes" [[The Ottawa Citizen]], June 26, 1959, p. 1</ref>

===Nicknames===
[[File:Armstrong-Alassio (crop).jpg|thumb|An autograph of Armstrong on the muretto of [[Alassio]]]]

The nicknames "Satchmo" and "Satch" are short for "Satchelmouth". The nickname origin is uncertain.<ref name="bergreen7"/> The most common tale that biographers tell is the story of Armstrong as a young boy in New Orleans dancing for pennies. He scooped the coins off the street and stuck them into his mouth to prevent bigger children from stealing them. Someone dubbed Armstrong "satchel mouth" for his mouth acting as a [[satchel]]. Another tale is that because of his large mouth, Armstrong was nicknamed "satchel mouth", which was shortened to "Satchmo."<ref name="bergreen7"/>

Early on, Armstrong was also known as "Dipper", short for "Dippermouth", a reference to the piece ''Dippermouth Blues''<ref>Armstrong, 1954, pp. 27–28</ref> and something of a riff on his unusual [[embouchure]].

The nickname "Pops" came from Armstrong's own tendency to forget people's names and simply call them "Pops" instead. The nickname was turned on Armstrong himself. It was used as the title of a 2010 biography of Armstrong by Terry Teachout.<ref name="bergreen7"/>

After a competition at the Savoy, he was crowned and nicknamed "King Menelik", after the Emperor of Ethiopia, for slaying "[[ofay]] jazz demons."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Brothers|first=Thomas|title=Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism|publisher=W.W. Norton & Company|year=2014|isbn=978-0393065824|location=New York|page=291}}</ref>

===Race===
Armstrong celebrated his heritage as a black man from a poor New Orleans neighborhood and tried to avoid what he called "putting on airs." Many younger black musicians criticized Armstrong for playing in front of [[racial segregation in the United States|segregated]] audiences and for not taking a stronger stand in the [[American civil rights movement]].<ref>Collier (1985), pp. 317–320</ref> When Armstrong did speak out, it made national news. In 1957, journalism student Larry Lubenow scored a candid interview with Armstrong while the musician was performing in Grand Forks, North Dakota, shortly after the [[Little Rock Nine|conflict]] over school [[school integration in the United States|desegregation]] in [[Little Rock, Arkansas]]. Armstrong denounced both Arkansas Governor [[Orval Faubus]] and [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|President Dwight D. Eisenhower]], saying the President had "no guts" and was "two-faced." Armstrong told his interviewer that he would cancel a planned tour of the [[Soviet Union]] on behalf of the [[State Department]], saying, "The way they're treating my people in the South, the government can go to hell"; he could not represent his government abroad when it was in conflict with its own people.<ref name="Louis Armstrong, Barring Soviet Tour, Denounces Eisenhower and Gov. Faubus">{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/books/97/08/03/reviews/armstrong-eisenhower.html | title = Louis Armstrong, Barring Soviet Tour, Denounces Eisenhower and Gov. Faubus | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date = September 19, 1957 | access-date = August 30, 2007 | archive-date = April 10, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090410084159/http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/08/03/reviews/armstrong-eisenhower.html | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=September 23, 2007|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/opinion/23margolick.html|first=David|last=Margolick|author-link=David Margolick|title=The Day Louis Armstrong Made Noise|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=February 17, 2017|archive-date=February 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221145559/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/opinion/23margolick.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[FBI]] kept a file on Armstrong for his outspokenness about integration.<ref>Bergreen (1997), p. 472.</ref>

===Religion===
When asked about his religion, Armstrong answered that he was raised a [[Baptist]], always wore a [[Star of David]], and was friends with the pope.<ref name=Gabbard>{{cite AV media notes |title=Louis and The Good Book |others=Louis Armstrong |year=2001 |first=Krin |last=Gabbard |page=1 |type=CD booklet |publisher=[[Verve Records]] |location=New York City }}</ref> Armstrong wore the Star of David in honor of the Karnoffsky family who took him in as a child and lent him money to buy his first cornet. Armstrong was baptized a Catholic in the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in New Orleans,<ref name=Gabbard /> and he met [[Pope Pius XII]] and [[Pope Paul VI]].<ref name="bergreen7"/>

===Personal habits===
[[File:Armstrong secret 9.jpg|thumb|The [[Armstrong Secret 9]], 1931]]
Armstrong was concerned with his health. Armstrong used [[laxatives]] to control his weight, a practice he advocated both to acquaintances and in the diet plans he published under the title ''Lose Weight the Satchmo Way''.<ref name="bergreen7" /> Armstrong's laxative of preference in his younger days was [[Pluto Water]], but when he discovered the herbal remedy [[Senna glycoside|Swiss Kriss]], he became an enthusiastic convert,<ref name="bergreen7" /> extolling its virtues to anyone who would listen and passing out packets to everyone he encountered, including members of the [[British Royal Family]].

Armstrong also appeared in humorous risqué cards that he had printed to send to friends. The cards bore a picture of Armstrong sitting on a toilet—as viewed through a keyhole—with the slogan "Satch says, 'Leave it all behind ya!{{'"}}<ref name="LeaveItAllBehindYa">{{cite web| first = Peter | last = Gilstrap | url = https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/leave-it-all-behind-ya-6431842 | title = Leave It All Behind Ya | website = Phoenix New Times |date = February 29, 1996 |access-date = August 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111214821/https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/leave-it-all-behind-ya-6431842|archive-date=November 11, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> The cards have sometimes been incorrectly described as ads for Swiss Kriss.<ref>[[Terry Teachout|Teachout, Terry]] (2009). ''Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong''. pp. 293–294.{{ISBN|978-0151010899}}.</ref> In a live recording of "[[Baby, It's Cold Outside]]" with [[Velma Middleton]], he changes the lyric from "Put another record on while I pour" to "Take some Swiss Kriss while I pour."<ref>Armstrong, Louis. ''Christmas Through the Years'', Laserlight 12744.</ref> Armstrong's laxative use began as a child when his mother would collect [[dandelion]]s and [[peppergrass]] around the railroad tracks to give to her children for their health.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Brothers|first=Thomas|title=Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism|publisher=W.W. Norton & Company|year=2014|isbn=978-0393065824|location=New York|pages=390}}</ref>

Armstrong was a heavy [[marijuana]] smoker for much of his life and spent nine days in jail in 1930 after being arrested outside a club for drug possession. Armstrong described marijuana as "a thousand times better than whiskey."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-louis-armstrong|title=9 Things You May Not Know About Louis Armstrong|first=Evan|last=Andrews|website=History.com|date=October 17, 2022|access-date=April 3, 2021|archive-date=November 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120054543/https://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-louis-armstrong|url-status=live}}</ref>

Armstrong's concern with his health and weight was balanced by his love of food, reflected in such songs as "Cheesecake", "Cornet Chop Suey",<ref>Satchmo.net. 'Red Beans and Ricely yours, Louis Armstrong.'</ref> and "Struttin' with Some Barbecue", though the latter was written about a fine-looking companion, and not food.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20031227020046/http://www.cabcalloway.cc/_vti_bin/shtml.exe/jive_dictionary.htm ''Jive Dictionary''], by [[Cab Calloway]]: "''Barbecue (n.) – the girl friend, a beauty''." Retrieved February 10, 2009.</ref> Armstrong kept a strong connection throughout his life to the [[Louisiana Creole cuisine|cooking of New Orleans]], always signing his letters, "[[Red beans and rice]]ly yours ...".<ref>Elie p. 327.</ref>

A fan of Major League Baseball, Armstrong founded a team in New Orleans that was known as Raggedy Nine and transformed the team into his Armstrong's "[[Secret Nine Baseball]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/rare-footage-duke-ellington-highlights-when-jazz-baseball-were-perfect-harmony-180950303/|title=Rare Footage of Duke Ellington Highlights When Jazz and Baseball Were in Perfect Harmony|last=Hasse|first=John E.|date=April 1, 2014|website=Smithsonian|access-date=March 6, 2017|archive-date=March 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307050207/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/rare-footage-duke-ellington-highlights-when-jazz-baseball-were-perfect-harmony-180950303/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Writings===
Armstrong's gregariousness extended to writing. On the road, he wrote constantly, sharing favorite themes of his life with correspondents around the world. Armstrong avidly typed or wrote on whatever stationery was at hand, recording instant takes on music, sex, food, childhood memories, his heavy [[Medical marijuana|"medicinal" marijuana]] use, and even his bowel movements, which Armstrong gleefully described.<ref>Bergreen (1997), p. 4.</ref>

===Social organizations===
Louis Armstrong was not, as claimed, a [[Freemason]]. Although he has been cited as a Montgomery Lodge No. 18 (Prince Hall) member in New York, no such lodge ever existed. In his autobiography, Armstrong stated that he was a member of the [[Knights of Pythias of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia]], an African American non-Masonic fraternal organization.<ref>{{Cite web
| title = Louis Armstrong
| website = Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon
| url = http://www.freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/armstrong_l/armstrong_l.html
| access-date = September 3, 2010
| archive-date = January 1, 2013
| archive-url = https://archive.today/20130101014320/http://www.freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/armstrong_l/armstrong_l.html
| url-status = live
}}</ref> During the krewe's 1949 [[Mardi Gras in New Orleans|Mardi Gras]] parade, Armstrong presided as King of the [[Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club]], for which he was featured on the cover of [[Time (magazine)|''Time'' magazine]].<ref>{{Citation | title = Louis the First | newspaper = Time | date = February 21, 1949 | url = https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,805063-1,00.html | access-date = February 5, 2021 | archive-date = June 16, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210616225029/https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,805063-1,00.html | url-status = live }}</ref>