Al Scramuzza: The Crawfish King

Al Scramuzza: The Crawfish King is a captivating story about a depression-era, poverty stricken youngster who gambled with marbles at five years old in the French Quarter, but later built one of the most successful seafood empires in the country. Scramuzza would eventually roll dice with former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards on the high-roller craps tables in Las Vegas, but then go bust and later find spiritual salvation as a recovering addict and sponsor at Alcoholics Anonymous and Gamblers Anonymous. He would ultimately sponsor and mentor thousands of other addicts over a 35-year span and would become one of the longest and winningest Little League coaches in Louisiana history.

Louisiana’s Crawfish King Al Scramuzza is the flamboyant and wildly successful Sicilian entrepreneur credited with making the spicy crustaceans an essential staple in New Orleans’ world renowned cuisine. In the early 1950s, Scramuzza, who grew up a poor French Quarter orphan, began trucking thousands of pounds of live crawfish from Louisiana’s country farms and created the unique recipe of spices to boil mouthwatering mudbugs. Today, crawfish dishes are prevalent in restaurants throughout the Southern United States and beyond.

By the 1970s, Scramuzza owned and operated one of the largest seafood distributors in the country with his Seafood City taking up an entire city block in New Orleans’ Mid-City neighborhood. Scramuzza became an iconic New Orleans character through his hilarious and outlandish television commercials with catchy jingles which he produced and starred in himself.

But his fame and fortune turned to heartache and misery when the dire consequences of his boozing and gambling escalated. In 1984, Scramuzza joined recovery fellowships to overcome his addictions and then dedicated his life to counseling and rescuing the lives of other alcoholics and compulsive gamblers. He also gave back to the community by coaching and mentoring thousands of youngsters at New Orleans neighborhood parks and youth sports programs, inspiring young athletes to win countless championship trophies over more than three decades.

WLAE is proud to present Al Scramuzza: The Crawfish King, the fascinating story of his journey from rags to riches, to bankruptcy, and ultimate salvation as a spiritual mentor and life-saver to thousands of lost souls.