You May Not Know His Name, But You Probably Have Heard His Songs

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of the great American film composer Henry Mancini. He died in 1994, but not before enriching the American songbook. While often forgotten in the United States, in other countries with an orchestral tradition, like Germany, his work continues to be reprised.

Anyone who has watched an old movie or even some old TV shows has probably heard his music, maybe without knowing who wrote or contributed to it. He once commented on his work, “The squares think I’m hip, and the hip think I’m square.” He had amazing partnerships with Johnny Mercer, Blake Edwards, and many other collaborators through 30 movies in 35 years and many TV shows.

His trick was to watch the film rushes, know the story, and play around with what fits the storyline. He also made a point of violating some basic music rules by throwing in a note that didn’t quite fit. Working off that, he opened things up for improvisation.

He won twenty Grammy Awards, a Lifetime Grammy, a Golden Globe, and Four Academy Awards. These days, most TV theme songs have been cut or greatly reduced to make more space for advertising.

The only Mancini movie score Alfred Hitchcock rejected was for his picture "Frenzy." Why? You can't make this up: Hitchcock loved it but thought it was too scary.

In a different film, a decision was made to cut another song. When it was announced to the cast, Audrey Hepburn said firmly, "Over my dead body." Eventually, the cut was restored. "Moon River" went on to win an Academy Award for Best Original Score in "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Hepburn credited Mancini for radically improving what she thought might have been a flat film.

Mancini grew up in an Italian-American family in the Pittsburgh area. Too poor to buy sheet music as a kid, he transcribed songs off the radio so he could play them. He got his start in the WWII Air Force after auditioning for Glenn Miller. Later, he toured with Tex Beneke. At the urging of his wife, he went to Hollywood. It was a happy move for a couple that remained married for 47 years.

Here is a great version of the theme from The Pink Panther.

Mancini labored away in what he called the coal mine, improving or writing scores for many of Universal International's budget horror films, such as "Creature From The Black Lagoon" or, more famously, the single-shot tracking opening sequence from Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil" that is studied in film schools to this day.

His breakthrough as an independent artist came when he went to get a haircut and was stopped on the way out by Blake Edwards. He asked him if he would write a score for a new TV show he was doing. TV was considered a step down from films, but his theme from the detective thriller "Peter Gunn" became a door-opening hit. One bit of trivia is that the piano player in the score was John Williams, who would go on to win his own Academy Awards for "Star Wars" and other great films.

From there, the hits kept coming. Here is Frank Sinatra's take on the theme from "The Days of Wine and Roses," which was written with Johnny Mercer.

He again combined happy, sad, and whistful working with Savanah, Ga., lyricist Mercer in "Moon River." A friend's uncle once called Mercer's house (yes, he was in the phone book) to tell him how much he loved his songs. He wasn't home, but his wife encouraged him to call back later and talk to him. He chickened out and regretted it for the rest of his life. By the by, if you ever visit the Princeton, N.J., area, a lot of things are named Mercer after one of his forbears, Brigadier General Hugh Mercer. He died in the Revolutionary War Battle of Princeton. Another descendant was also a well-known figure from mid-twentieth-century America, General George S. Patton. Here are the original and two other takes on "Moon River."