Mancini, Henry
(1924–1994)
Mancini, Henry (16 Apr 1924–14 June 1994) American composer and orchestra leader, born in Cleveland. After study at the Juilliard School he played piano in dance bands. In the late 1940s he was arranging for Tex Beneke’s band. He was in Hollywood writing movie scores in the 1950s, and also composed music for television programs. In 1961 he wrote “Moon River” and in 1962 “Days of Wine and Roses”; both songs won Academy awards. As a conductor he made 14 chart singles of his own compositions and…