"Moon River."

Henry Mancini was born on April 16, 1924 in Cleveland, Ohio. He began his music career at the age of eight when he took up the flute, which was also played by his father. At the age of 12, his family moved to Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, and he took up piano. He was soon arranging music and was accepted into Julliard School of Music. He had to leave, however, after only a year because he was drafted into the Air Force.

He returned from overseas and became a pianist and arranger for The Glenn Miller-Tex Beneke Orchestra in 1946. He met his wife, Ginny O'Connor, there and they were married a year later. Then in 1952, he began working for the music department of Universal-International Studios. There, he worked on music for films like The Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Benny Goodman Story and Orson Welles's Touch of Evil. The Orson Welles work became a catalyst for his later success because he used jazz music instead of the traditional classical. After that, he worked on the TV show Peter Gunn with a man he would work with for the next 30+ years, Blake Edwards.

Mancini found more success following Peter Gunn with scores for famous films like Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Great Race and The Pink Panther. He was also highly sought after as a conductor and was appearing in more than 50 performances a year with prestigious organizations like the London Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He also performed three times for the royal family.

Mancini's talent garnered him numerous awards including four honorary doctorates, The Distinguished Artists Circle Award from UCLA, four academy awards, 20 Grammys, a Golden Globe and more. He has worked on dozens of scores for film and TV and is known for his prolific legacy. He passed away in 1994 at the age of 70 and left behind his wife, Ginny, and three children, Chris, Monica and Felice, as well as grandchildren. Ten years later, he was commemorated by the United States Postal Service with his own stamp.