Google image/ 1901- 1971
Oscar winning actor Forest Whitaker has signed on to play the great Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong in an upcoming film about the musician’s extraordinary life.
Born on August 4, 1901, in a poor section of New Orleans called “The Battlefield,” Armstrong rose to fame as a singer and trumpet virtuoso. Armstrong was the first important Jazz soloist and his style shaped and influenced that emerging new music form.
In his later years, Armstrong gained new fans by appearing in films and making his mark on the pop music scene. He reportedly died of a heart attack at the age of 69 on July 6, 1971.
Forest Whitaker, who won the best actor Oscar in 2006 for playing Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in “The Last King of Scotland”, will also direct. The screenplay is being written by Ron Bass and the project is produced by Legende Films, according to the Done Deal website.
The Armstrong movie is titled, “What a Wonderful World.” That song was written for Armstrong and he recorded it in 1967. Surprisingly, it did not become a hit in this country until 1987 when it was used in the film “Good Morning, Vietnam.”
