Channeling Satchmo

Kansas state lottery officials got their money’s worth when they hired singer and character actor Ernie Lee Banks, 68, to impersonate Louis Armstrong in TV promos for their “Scratchmo” game. The Hollywood resident’s lengthy resume includes gigs in more than 100 L.A. clubs, appearances on TV shows such as “The Jeffersons” and “The X-Files” and commercials for 1-800-COLLECT. We asked for a few notes.

Tell us about about your unusual childhood.

I was raised by my father’s sister in South Philly. I joined the Cetlin and Wilson carnival when I was 15 or 16. I’d sing on the black show. The lady I married was a shake dancer. We toured on a train.

Didn’t you do a tour in the military?

I was in the [Army’s] 101st Airborne. I used to run off a lot and go to Paris. I sang at the Moulin Rouge. I’d sit in with bands. I’d come back on the 29th day so I wouldn’t be called a deserter. That went on until they threw me out.

Did you go back to the carnival?

No, I went to Holmesburg Prison in Pennsylvania in 1958. I got some marijuana for a friend and the friend ended up being a cop. I got six years for five joints. I was given leisure of the place. The warden liked the way I did Elvis Presley impersonations. The warden didn’t want to let me go. They had no one to do the Easter program.

And then you went back into show biz?

I started singing in Philly with a guy named Ralph Green. In the early ‘60s, Pearl Bailey liked us and we worked in Atlantic City in a place called the Black Orchid. We came to L.A. on our own. We were partners on and off for 10 years or more. We wore straw hats, and we were sharp.

When did you start acting?

In 1973 I did “The Jeffersons,” “Good Times,” bit parts on shows, films like “The Black Godfather.” I started singing solo in clubs in Los Angeles and Santa Monica. In 1988 I played a minister on Broadway with the Winans family and toured the East Coast in “Don’t Get God Started.”

What was your best film or TV role?

“King,” about Martin Luther King Jr. I played Ralph Abernathy. He was King’s best friend. Also I liked working on “The Jeffersons.” I played an old friend of George’s from Harlem. Those were two pieces I really enjoyed doing.

How did you start doing Louis Armstrong?

I have a self-taught, gravelly voice. I was a doo-wop boy with other guys on the street corner. I could never get do-re-me-fa-so-la-ti-do right, but I could always sing Louis. In the late ‘80s, his music started getting popular again. I perform at clubs and senior citizen homes. I’ve performed Louis with a group. “What a wonderful world!”

Do you have any advice for young performers?

Back in the early days, I wish that I had known that I was worth something. I should have known about not giving up and pursuing your dreams.

Any frustrations in your career?

In talent shows, when I was young, Billy Paul, who sang “Me and Mrs. Jones,” would always come out ahead of me. I always came in second.