Henry Mancini

Mancini was born of immigrant parents in Cleveland, Ohio, in its “Little Italy” neighborhood. He attended Julliard School of Music, in New York City, briefly in 1943 – a musical education that was interrupted by his draft board, and a tour in the Army. Mancini is perhaps best remembered for his successful collaboration with film and TV director Blake Edwards, a collaboration that saw Mancini compose for the TV show Peter Gunn (1958-1961), and for such movies asBreakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), Days of Wine and Roses (1962), The Pink Panther (1963) The Great Race (1965), and Victor/Victoria (1995). His score for Breakfast at Tiffany’s included “Moon River,” a song that quickly became a standard (assisted in that climb by the lyrics of Johnny Mercer). In the movie, Audrey Hepburn sings it, accompanying herself on the guitar, sitting in the frame of an apartment window. Mancini died in 1994 while working on the music for a Broadway stage version of Victor/Victoria.