Editing Louis Prima (section)

===Personality===
Fans knew Prima as a genial and patient celebrity: he always signed autographs or posed for pictures with a smile.<ref name="Prima"/> To the record companies and big corporations, however, Prima showed little deference, and he was uncompromising in seeking maximum compensation for his work.<ref name="Prima"/>

[[Warner Brothers]] offered him $60,000 to be in a movie based on the life of [[Helen Morgan (singer)|Helen Morgan]], but he rejected it; when the studio increased the offer to $75,000, it was still not enough. Prima wanted $100,000 and creative control of his role, which was rejected by Warner Brothers.<ref name="Prima"/> He had protracted disputes with the Strand Theatre in New York City and [[Majestic Records]], and he flatly refused to allow a former songwriter to advertise herself as "formerly featured with Louis Prima's orchestra".<ref name="Prima"/>

Prima had expensive tastes: he shopped at luxury clothing stores and always wore top-brand suits. He spent great sums on [[horse racing]] and his own private stable of horses. He said he enjoyed gambling because it relaxed him;<ref name="Prima"/> riding was another one of the things that relaxed him the most outside of his busy performing life. He knew each of his horses well and read about training. Another hobby was boating. He purchased a boat for his third wife Tracelene Barrett for their honeymoon on the [[Hudson River]].<ref name="Prima"/>