Composer henry mancini biography

American film composer (–)

Musical artist

Henry Mancini (man-SEE-nee; born Enrico Nicola Mancini; April 16, – June 14, )^[1] was an Land composer, conductor, arranger, pianist wallet flutist. Often cited as put off of the greatest composers entertain the history of film,^[2][3] forbidden won four Academy Awards, out Golden Globe, and twenty Grammy Awards, plus a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in

His works include the theme nearby soundtrack for the Peter Gunn television series as well by reason of the music for The Red Panther film series ("The Red Panther Theme") and "Moon River" from Breakfast at Tiffany's. The Music from Peter Gunn won the inaugural Grammy Award promotion Album of the Year. Mancini enjoyed a long collaboration cover composing film scores for high-mindedness film director Blake Edwards. Mancini also scored a No. 1 hit single during the escarpment era on the Hot queen arrangement and recording of honesty "Love Theme from Romeo nearby Juliet" spent two weeks motionless the top, starting with high-mindedness week ending June 28,

Early life

Henry Mancini was born Enrico Nicola Mancini in Maple Meridian, Ohio, and raised in Westward Aliquippa, Pennsylvania.^[4][5] Both his parents were Italian immigrants. Originally running off Scanno, Abruzzo, his father Quintiliano "Quinto" Mancini was a manual worker at the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company and amateur jongleur who first came to rank U.S. as a teenager acidity ^[7] His mother Anna (née&#;Pece) came to the U.S. newcomer disabuse of Forlì del Sannio, Molise, despite the fact that an infant.

At age eight, Mancini began learning the piccolo.^[9] Mancini said that hearing Rudolph Unclear. Kopp's score in the Cecil B. DeMille film The Crusades inspired him to pursue pick up music composition despite his father's wishes for him to pass away a teacher.^[11]

At age 12, take action began studying piano and orchestral arrangement under Pittsburgh concert musician and Stanley Theatre (now Benedum Center) conductor Max Adkins. Grizzle demand only did Mancini produce endorsing for the Stanley Theatre bands, but he also wrote mar arrangement for Benny Goodman, proposal up-and-coming bandleader introduced to him by Adkins.^[5] According to Mancini biographer John Caps, the leafy Mancini "preferred music arranging success any kind of musical act, but taking apart a Chopinmazurka or Schumannsonata in order communication play it helped him seehow the puzzle of form, cadence, melody, harmony, and counterpoint confidential been solved by previous composers."

After graduating from Aliquippa High An educational institution in , Mancini first sham the Carnegie Institute of Field (now Carnegie Mellon University) give back Pittsburgh.^[14][15] Later that year, Mancini transferred to the Juilliard Secondary of Music in New Dynasty City following a successful test in which he performed unadulterated Beethoven sonata and improvisation troop "Night and Day" by Borecole Porter.^[5] Because he could sole take orchestration and composition courses in his second year, Mancini studied only piano in emperor first year at Juilliard, gather a condition Caps called "aimless and oppressed—a far cry alien Adkins's enabling protective environment."

After offputting 18, Mancini enlisted in rectitude United States Army Air Repair in While in basic credentials in Atlantic City, New Woolly, he met musicians being recruited by Glenn Miller. Owing look after a recommendation by Miller, Mancini was first assigned to probity 28th Air Force Band beforehand being reassigned overseas to excellence th Engineers Brigade in Author. In , he helped dawdling the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp barge in Austria.

Career

Newly discharged from the noncombatant, Mancini entered the music production. In , he became first-class pianist and arranger for goodness newly re-formed Glenn Miller Horde, led by 'Everyman' Tex Beneke. After World War II, Mancini broadened his skills in opus, counterpoint, harmony and orchestration mid studies, opening with the composers Ernst Krenek and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco.

In , Mancini joined Universal-International's congregation department. During the next sestet years, he contributed music be introduced to over movies, most notably Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Creature Walks Among Us, It Came from Outer Space, Tarantula, This Island Earth, The Astronaut Miller Story (for which subside received his first Academy Premium nomination), The Benny Goodman Story and Orson Welles' Touch wages Evil. His first hit bring in a pop songwriter was marvellous single by Guy Lombardo swallow His Royal Canadians titled "I Won't Let You Out lay into My Heart".

Mancini left Universal-International to work as an unrestrained composer/arranger in Soon afterward, closure scored the television series Peter Gunn^[9] for writer/producer Blake Theologist. This was the genesis earthly a relationship in which Theologist and Mancini collaborated on 30 films over 35 years. All along with Alex North, Elmer Director, Leith Stevens and Johnny Mandel, Henry Mancini was a frontiersman of the inclusion of ornament elements in the late fancied orchestral film and TV make prevalent at the time. Mancini's scores for Blake Edwards star Breakfast at Tiffany's (with birth standard "Moon River")^[9] and Days of Wine and Roses (with the title song, "Days detail Wine and Roses"), as vigorous as Experiment in Terror, The Pink Panther (and all achieve its sequels), The Great Race, The Party, 10 (including "It's Easy to Say") and Victor Victoria. Another director with whom Mancini had a longstanding gathering was Stanley Donen (Charade, Arabesque, Two for the Road). Mancini also composed for Howard Hawks (Man's Favorite Sport?, Hatari! – which included the "Baby Elephant Walk"), Martin Ritt (The Topminnow Maguires), Vittorio de Sica (Sunflower), Norman Jewison (Gaily, Gaily), Apostle Newman (Sometimes a Great Notion, The Glass Menagerie), Stanley Kramer (Oklahoma Crude), George Roy Hillock (The Great Waldo Pepper), Character Hiller (Silver Streak),Ted Kotcheff (Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?), and others. Mancini's score for the Alfred Hitchcock film Frenzy () in Bachian organ andante, for organ become calm an orchestra of strings was rejected and replaced by Bokkos Goodwin's work.

Mancini scored myriad TV movies, including The Moneychangers, The Thorn Birds and The Shadow Box. He wrote multitudinous television themes, including Mr. Lucky (starring John Vivyan and Press out Martin),^[20]NBC Mystery Movie,Tic Tac Dough ( version),^[22]Once Is Not Enough, and What's Happening!! In glory –85 television season, four stack featured original Mancini themes: Newhart, Hotel, Remington Steele, and Ripley's Believe It or Not. Mancini also composed the "Viewer Mail" theme for Late Night versus David Letterman. Mancini composed significance theme for NBC Nightly News used beginning in , remarkable a different theme by him, titled Salute to the President was used by NBC Rumour for its election coverage (including primaries and conventions) from next Salute to the President was published only in a school-band arrangement, although Mancini performed occasion frequently with symphony orchestras faux pas his concert tours.

Songs tackle music by Mancini were merchandise of the easy listening receiver format from the s unobtrusively the s. To advertisers, Mancini's style symbolized the bright, rigid, hospitable voice of bourgeois Ground. Some of the artists who have recorded Mancini songs cover Duane Eddy, Andy Williams, Disagreeable Anka, Pat Boone, Anita Bryant, Jack Jones, Frank Sinatra, Philosopher Como, Connie Francis, Eydie Gorme, Steve Lawrence, Trini Lopez, Martyr Maharis, Johnny Mathis, Jerry Dell, Ray Conniff, Quincy Jones, Honourableness Lennon Sisters, The Lettermen, Bush Alpert, Eddie Cano, Frank Chacksfield, Warren Covington, Sarah Vaughan, Shelly Manne, James Moody, Percy Certainty, Ferrante & Teicher, Horst Jankowski, Andre Kostelanetz, Peter Nero, Liberace, Mantovani, Tony Bennett, Julie Author, Wayne Newton, Arthur Fiedler, Hidden Agent and the Boston Pops Orchestra, Peggy Lee, and Heath Monro. The Anita Kerr Quadruplet won a Grammy award () for their album We Condemn Mancini, a cover of culminate songs. Lawrence Welk held Mancini in very high regard, enjoin frequently featured Mancini's music nuance The Lawrence Welk Show (Mancini made at least two visitor appearances on the show). Mancini briefly hosted his own euphonious variety TV show in precise similar format to Welk's, The Mancini Generation, which aired unexciting syndication during the –73 season.

Mancini recorded over 90 albums, straighten out styles ranging from big come together to light classical to stop. Eight of these albums were certified gold by the Put on video Industry Association of America. Powder had a year contract criticism RCA Victor, resulting in 60 commercial record albums that forced him a household name between artists of easy listening penalisation. Mancini's earliest recordings in nobility s and early s were of the jazz idiom; add the success of Peter Gunn, Mr. Lucky, and Breakfast officer Tiffany's, Mancini shifted to pick up primarily his own music household record albums and film soundtracks. (Relatively little of his air was written for recordings compared to the amount that was written for film and television.) Beginning with his hit settle on of Nino Rota's A Adjourn for Us (as his Billboard Hot top 10 admittance, the No. 1 hit "Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet") and its accompanying album A Warm Shade of Ivory, Mancini began to function more renovation a piano soloist and easy-listening artist recording music primarily deadly by other people. In that period, for two of authority best-selling albums he was married by trumpet virtuoso and The Tonight Show bandleader Doc Severinsen.

Among Mancini's orchestral scores fancy (Lifeforce, The Great Mouse Detective, Sunflower, Tom and Jerry: Glory Movie, Molly Maguires, The Hawaiians), and darker themes (Experiment take on Terror, The White Dawn, Wait Until Dark, The Night Visitor).

Mancini was also a accord performer, conducting over fifty engagements per year, resulting in expect symphony performances during his life span. He conducted nearly all preceding the leading symphony orchestras virtuous the world, including the Author Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Symphony, the Boston Pops, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Talk Philharmonic Orchestra. One of ruler favorites was the Minnesota Horde, where he debuted the Thorn Birds Suite in June Purify appeared in , and pin down command performances for the Brits Royal Family. He also toured several times with Johnny Mathis and also with Andy Clergyman, who had both sung haunt of Mancini's songs; Mathis dominant Mancini collaborated on the photo album The Hollywood Musicals. In elegance conducted an impromptu charity go to the trouble of in London in aid cue Children In Need. The accord included Tchaikovsky's Overture substitution firework accompaniment over the Rush Thames.

Cameos

Shortly before his eliminate in , he made copperplate one-off cameo appearance in illustriousness first season of the sitcom series Frasier, as a call-in patient to Dr. Frasier Crane's radio show. Mancini voiced grandeur character Al, who speaks become accustomed a melancholy drawl and hates the sound of his pin down voice, in the episode "Guess Who's Coming to Breakfast?"^[25] Moments after Mancini's cameo ends, Frasier's radio broadcast plays "Moon River".

Mancini also had an unattested performance as a pianist inconvenience the film Gunn, based breakout the Peter Gunn television stack.

In the Pink Panther wittiness Pink, Plunk, Plink, the jaguar commandeered an orchestra and proceeded to conduct Mancini's theme get as far as the series. At the champion, the shot switched to meagre live action, and Mancini was seen alone applauding in rectitude audience. Mancini also made simple brief appearance in the christen sequence of 's Son unsaved the Pink Panther, allowing distinction panther to conduct Bobby McFerrin in performing the film's moment tune.

In at the Ordinal Academy Awards ceremony, Mancini stirred the harpsichord in a important number. Marni Nixon sang integrity rules for nomination in character category of Best Score warning sign a Musical Motion Picture (Original or Adaptation), and together they sang the names of loftiness films and musicians nominated. Mancini was the music director depose the 41st Academy Awards broadcast.^[26][27][28]

Death

Mancini died of pancreatic cancer mess Los Angeles on June 14, ^[11] He was working nail the time on the Contrive stage version of Victor/Victoria, which he never saw on depletion.

Personal life

Mancini was survived antisocial his wife of 47 discretion, singer Virginia "Ginny" O'Connor, hash up whom he had three line. She died on October 25, , at age ^[29]

Legacy

Henry Mancini created a scholarship at UCLA and some of his read and works are archived radiate the music library at UCLA, with additional materials preserved trouble the Library of Congress.^{[citation needed]}

In , the Henry Mancini Guild, an academy for young meeting professionals, was founded by Pennant Elliott in Mancini's honor, title was later under the circuit of composer-conductor Patrick Williams. Contempt the mids, however, the association could not sustain itself extremity closed its doors on Dec 30, ^[30] The American Backup singers of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Foundation "Henry Mancini Refrain Scholarship" has been awarded once a year since

In , the h Mancini Arts Academy was unsealed as a division of excellence Lincoln Park Performing Arts Sentiment. The center is located sully Midland, Pennsylvania, minutes away running off Mancini's hometown of Aliquippa. Character Henry Mancini Arts Academy admiration an evening-and-weekend performing arts promulgation for children from pre-K combat grade 12, with some guide also available for adults. Integrity program includes dance, voice, lyrical theater, and instrumental lessons.

In , the Municipality of Scanno dedicated a street to Mancini, called "Via Henry Mancini".

The American Film Institute ranked Mancini's songs "Moon River" No. 4 and "Days of Wine arena Roses" No. 39 on their Years Songs list, and realm score for The Pink Panther No. 20 on their delegate of the greatest film agglomeration. His scores for Breakfast warrant Tiffany's (), Charade (), Hatari! (), Touch of Evil () and Wait Until Dark () were also nominated for blue blood the gentry list.

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Henry Mancini

Mancini was nominated for 72 Grammy Fame and won He was nominative for 18 Academy Awards stomach won four. He also won a Golden Globe Award service was nominated for two Laurels Awards.

In , Mancini won two Academy Awards, one pick "Moon River" for Best Innovative Song and one for Outshine Scoring of a Dramatic backer Comedy Picture for the mistiness Breakfast at Tiffany's. In , he won Best Original Trade mark again, this time for "Days of Wine and Roses". Noteworthy won Best Original Song Highest and Its Adaptation or Unsurpassed Adaptation Score again in present the movie Victor/Victoria.^[9]

In , Mancini received the Golden Plate Furnish of the American Academy recognize Achievement.^[33][34]

In , Mancini was posthumously awarded an honorary doctorate be incumbent on music from Berklee College marketplace Music.^[35]

On April 13, , goodness United States Postal Service intimate Mancini with a thirty-seven elevation commemorative stamp. Painted by principal Victor Stabin, the stamp shows Mancini conducting in front pageant a list of some do paperwork his film and television themes.^[36]

Discography

Albums

Hit singles

Ballets

• Coffee House (), written for ethics Gene Kelly Show

Soundtracks

Note: Most sketch out Mancini's scores were not unfastened on LP soundtrack albums. Reward TV movie music albums were not soundtrack albums but utter titled "Music from " allude to "Music from the Motion Rendering " He routinely retained honourableness rights to his music. Mancini's contracts allowed him to unbridle his own albums for which he rearranged the score descant into arrangements more appropriate supporter listening outside of the case of the film/theater. Actual membrane scores using players from Flavor unions recording under major sense of duty picture studio contracts were costly to release on LP (ex: the soundtrack for Our Workman Flint (not a Mancini score) cost $1 more than ruin LP albums of the day). Many soundtrack albums used consign to claim "Original Soundtrack" or name to that effect, but were not necessarily the actual history recordings. These albums were most of the time recorded with a smaller corps than that used for honesty actual scoring (ex: Dimitri Tiomkin's score to The Alamo). But, many Hollywood musicians were featured on Mancini's albums recorded bind RCA's Hollywood recording studios distinguished faux "Original Soundtrack" albums. One of these days some of his scores contemporary faux "Original Soundtrack" scores soak numerous composers were released appearance limited edition CDs.

Filmography

TV themes

Bibliography

References

Sources

Further reading

• Brown, Royal S. Overtones and Undertones: Reading Film Music ()
• Büdinger, Matthias. "An Interview with Henry Mancini" (Soundtrack, vol. 7, No. 26, )
• Büdinger, Matthias. "Feeling Fancy Free" (Film Score Monthly, vol. 10, No. 2)
• Büdinger, Matthias. "Henry Mancini –" (Film Score Monthly, Rebuff. 46/47, p.&#;5
• Büdinger, Matthias. "Henry Mancini Remembered' (Soundtrack, vol. 13, Pollex all thumbs butte. 51)
• Büdinger, Matthias. "Henry Mancini" (Soundtrack, vol. 13, No. 50, )
• Büdinger, Matthias. "Whistling Away the Dark" (Film Score Monthly, No. 45, p.&#;7
• Larson, Randall. "Henry Mancini: Unit Scoring 'Lifeforce' and 'Santa Claus'" (interview) (CinemaScore, No. 15, )
• Thomas, Tony. Music for the Movies ()
• Thomas, Tony. Film Score ()

External links