Directed by:
Lee PhilipsScreenplay:
James LeeCinematography:
Richard C. GlounerCast:
Ben Vereen, Red Buttons, Margaret Avery, Janet MacLachlan, Karen Jensen, Stack Pierce, Bill Henderson, Lee de Broux, Richard X. Slattery, Jason Wingreen (more)Plots(1)
In his TV dramatic debut, Ben Vereen stars as legendary jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong. The teleplay dramatizes a single incident in 1931, when Armstrong, still struggling for recognition, was playing a small Chicago bistro. Local gangsters catch Louis' act and offer him a huge salary increase to move to their nightspot, but our hero doesn't want to get anywhere near organized crime. Alas, Louis' white manager Red Cleveland (Red Buttons) is not above taking a bribe to frame Armstrong on a phony marijuana charge, thereby forcing the trumpeter into the hands of the Mob. But Louis emerges triumphant through the simple expedient of retreating to Europe, where superstardom is at last bestowed upon him. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Ben Vereen
USA
Best movies:
Roots (1977) (series)
All That Jazz (1979)
Roots: The Next Generations (1979) (series) - a.f.
![Red Buttons](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/368/164368509_aefb4e.jpg)
Red Buttons
USA
Best movies:
The Longest Day (1962)
One, Two, Three (1961)
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)
![Margaret Avery](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/274/274203_aa1ecc.jpg)
Margaret Avery
USA
Best movies:
The Color Purple (1985)
Magnum Force (1973)
The Jacksons: An American Dream (1992) (TV movie)
![Janet MacLachlan](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/865/161865744_c968ec.jpg)
Janet MacLachlan
USA
Best movies:
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
The Thirteenth Floor (1999)
...tick... tick... tick... (1970)
![Karen Jensen](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/321/158321479_5341c9.jpg)
Karen Jensen
USA
Best movies:
The Ballad of Josie (1967)
Louis Armstrong - Chicago Style (1976) (TV movie)
![Stack Pierce](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/151/159151854_62ad71.jpg)
Stack Pierce
USA
Best movies:
V: The Final Battle (1984) (series)
V (1983) (TV movie)
Columbo (1971) (series)
![Bill Henderson](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/259/160259661_127885.gif)
Bill Henderson
USA
Best movies:
Maverick (1994)
Roots: The Next Generations (1979) (series)
Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)
Lee de Broux
USA
Best movies:
The Sacketts (1979) (TV movie)
Chinatown (1974)
Roots (1977) (series)
![Richard X. Slattery](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/343/160343083_2b58db.jpg)
Richard X. Slattery
USA
Best movies:
Black Eye (1974)
A Distant Trumpet (1964)
BUtterfield 8 (1960)
![Jason Wingreen](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/676/161676261_00df74.jpg)
Jason Wingreen
USA
Best movies:
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
Roots: The Next Generations (1979) (series)
![Albert Paulsen](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/229/162229316_b7731c.jpg)
Albert Paulsen
Ecuador
Best movies:
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
Columbo (1971) (series)
All Fall Down (1962)
![Britt Leach](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/339/162339037_137826.jpg)
Britt Leach
USA
Best movies:
Banjo Hackett: Roamin' Free (1976) (TV movie)
Goin' South (1978)
Night Warning (1981)
![J. Jay Saunders](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/828/162828354_d739f8.jpg)
J. Jay Saunders
USA
Best movies:
Beetlejuice (1988)
Thief (1981)
Gleaming the Cube (1989)
Paul Micale
USA
Best movies:
Lady Sings the Blues (1972)
Miracle on Ice (1981) (TV movie)
Rocky II (1979)
Wallace Rooney
USA
Best movies:
The Exorcist (1973)
Louis Armstrong - Chicago Style (1976) (TV movie)
Jerry Fogel
USA
Best movies:
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
The Day of the Locust (1975)
Louis Armstrong - Chicago Style (1976) (TV movie)