Born:
April 16, 1924
Birthplace:
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.
Died:
June 14, 1994 in Beverly Hills, California due to pancreatic cancer
Also Known As:
His full name was Enrico Nicola Mancini, an American composer, arranger and conductor especially noted for his television and film scores. His parents were Quinto and Anna Pece Mancini. He was married to singer Ginny O'Connor and had 3 children; a son (Christopher) and two daughters (Felice and Monica).
Type of Compositions:
He incorporated jazz into his television and film scores. In all he won 20 Grammys, 4 Academy Awards and 2 Emmys. Mancini wrote scores for over 80 films.
Influence:
His father played the flute and the young Mancini grew up watching him perform with a local band. Mancini played the
piano and
flute; he briefly attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology where he met Max Adkins, the conductor of the Stanley Theater band. Mancini studied orchestration with the encouragement of Adkins before transferring to
Juilliard School of Music. His studies was cut short when he was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Force. It was there where he met Glenn Miller. After the war, Mancini became a member of Miller's band. In 1952, Mancini became a staff composer and arranger of Universal Studios.
Famous TV/Film Scores:
"Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde""Creature From the Black Lagoon""Ma and Pa Kettle at Home""The Glenn Miller Story" (received his first Academy Award nomination)"The Benny Goodman Story""Touch of Evil""The Music from Peter Gunn" (won the first Grammy Award for Album of the Year)"Mr. Lucky""The Richard Boone Show""Baby Elephant Walk" (from the movie "Hatari")"The Pink Panther""The Great Race""Arabesque""The Molly Maguires""The Great Waldo Pepper""Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?""Mommie Dearest""The Glass Menagerie"Academy Award Winning Scores:
"Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961)"Moon River" (1961)"Days of Wine and Roses" (1962)"Victor/Victoria" (1982)Interesting Facts:
ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) named an award after Henry Mancini in 1995. The Henry Mancini Award is given each year for outstanding achievements and contributions in film and television music.
Music Video:
Listen to
Henry Mancini's "Pink Panther Theme" performed by the Terry Gibbs Band courtesy of YouTube.
