麻豆社

An immersive dive into the life and music of one of the greatest film music composers of all time: Henry Mancini, who was born 100 years ago this year.

Mancini is one of the great icons of film music. His scores for movies like Breakfast at Tiffany's and The Pink Panther or TV shows like Peter Gunn, not only brought him Academy Awards and a glittering career, but featured songs and themes that have become instantly hummable classics in their own right away from the screen.

Alongside these seminal hits like Moon River or Days of Wine and Roses, and a reputation for 'cool jazz' Mancini was actually one of the most versatile composers in Hollywood. He pushed the artform in new directions and inspired some of the biggest names in film music today, from John Williams to Quincy Jones.

This programme tells Henry Mancini's story from his early life as the son of Italian immigrants in Pittsburgh where he was first handed a flute by his father, through his years as a musician in the Big Bands, learning the film trade at Universal Pictures, and eventually to composing some of the most recognisable music on film.

With recordings of Mancini himself from the 麻豆社 Archives, we also hear from his daughter Monica Mancini and son in law Gregg Field, both professional jazz musicians, film historian Jon Burlingame and pianist Tom Poster.

Produced by Hannah Thorne, sound mix by Callum Lawrence for 麻豆社 Audio

Archive: Parkinson, The Songwriters, The Great Mancini, Wogan, Film Night: Henry Mancini,
Film clips: Peter Gunn (Spartan, 1958), Breakfast at Tiffany's (Paramount, 1961), Days of Wine and Roses (Jalem Productions, 1962), Two for the Road (Stanley Donen, 1967), Mr Lucky (Spartan, 1959), Pink Panther (The Mirisch Company, 1963), The Glenn Miller Story (Universal, 1956), Creature from the Black Lagoon (Universal, 1954)
With thanks to the Mancini family and Rhiannon Neads