Ellis Marsalis Sr.

Ellis Louis Marsalis Sr. (April 16, 1908 – September 19, 2004) was an American businessman from New Orleans, Louisiana.

He was a former poultry farmer turned hotelier, Esso franchise owner and civil rights activist.

Marsalis came to New Orleans in 1927 and worked for the Duplain Rhodes Funeral Home, driving a horse-drawn hearse.

It catered to African-Americans, who were not allowed to stay at "whites only" New Orleans establishments under Jim Crow—the South's segregation laws.

The hotel and restaurant quickly attracted prominent musicians, such as Ray Charles, Cab Calloway, Ruth Brown, Etta James, Dinah Washington, and others, as well as some of the most influential civil rights leaders of the day, including Martin Luther King Jr., Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and Thurgood Marshall.