Biographical Note
Lucille "Sweets" Preston was born in Harlem on June 22, 1921, and rose to prominence in the 1930s as a vaudeville dancer at the Cotton Club and member of the Slim & Sweets comedy duo. Together with husband Luther "Slim" Preston they performed nationally and as part of USO tours, as well as appeared on the Chitlin' Circuit during the Jim Crow era of segregation. Their rendition of "Romeo and Juliet" was popularly acclaimed. The duo opened for many prominent performers, including Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong, the latter with whom they shared the same agent, Associated Booking. Following the death of Slim from cancer in 1950, Armstrong began an affair with Preston while married to his fourth wife, Lucille Wilson. On June 24, 1955, daughter Sharon Preston, nicknamed "Little Satchmo," was born.
Although Armstrong indicated that he wanted to marry Preston, he never followed through, continuing to provide financial support while maintaining a long-distance relationship. Preston and Sharon traveled with Armstrong during his summer tours until about 1962, when she and her daughter moved to Mt. Vernon, New York. Preston never remarried or conceived any other children. With Armstrong's passing in 1971, Lucille Wilson Armstrong signed an affidavit stating that Armstrong had no children. Preston never pressed the issue at probate with the Armstrong estate, believing ultimately that Louis Armstrong's personal recognition and support of Sharon was all that mattered. In her later years, she worked as a cook for the priest at Holy Family Church in New Rochelle, New York. She passed away on March 22, 2020, at age 99.