Henry Mancini Henry Mancini Enrico Nicola "Henry" Mancini (; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor and arranger, who is best remembered for his film and television scores. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, and twenty Grammy Awards, plus a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. His best known works include the theme and soundtrack for the "Peter Gunn" television series as well as the music for "The Pink Panther" film series ("The Pink Panther Theme") and "Moon River" from "Breakfast
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (theme) film. This instrumental composition plays at the beginning of the film. Largely due to the memorable quality of the main theme, the film's soundtrack peaked at #4 on the "Billboard" 200 album chart, and it stayed on this chart for over a year. Hugo Montenegro was an American composer and orchestra leader who began scoring films in the 1960s. After hearing the music from "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", he decided to create a cover version of the theme. Musician Tommy Morgan is quoted in Wesley Hyatt's "The Billboard Book of#1 Adult Contemporary Hits" as saying that Montenegro's