HENRY MANCINI HONORED WITH
POSTAGE STAMP BY US POSTAL SERVICE

Although I sent out a Report on Mancini's Stamp about 3 weeks ago, that was based on a news article, this is the USPS Press Release, and it is infinitely more newsy.

Mancini's legacy included “The Pink Panther” ,“Peter Gunn”, “Moon River”, among a number of other Film and TV scores.

It takes SO little effort, and would show a justified respect for Mancini and the Italian American Community, if you were, when the stamps become available to specifically request Mancini stamps, when you need some.
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HENRY MANCINI POSTAGE STAMP UNVEILED AT 2003 MANCINI
MUSICALE HONORING CLINT EASTWOOD

LOS ANGELES — Postmaster General John E. Potter unveiled a new commemorative postage stamp honoring music legend Henry Mancini on Saturday
evening before a crowd of more than 1,900 attending the 2003 Mancini Musicale at
UCLA. The stamp is scheduled to be issued April 13, 2004, by the U.S. Postal Service.

“Henry Mancini’s influence on the music industry has never been stronger,
and this stamp is a special way to pay tribute to his enduring genius,” said Potter.

Joining Potter on stage to introduce the stamp were Ginny Mancini, Henry Mancini’s wife, and family; Clint Eastwood, who received the 2003 “Hank” Award earlier in the program for his contributions to the music industry; and Quincy Jones, who presented the award to Eastwood.

Following moving tributes to both Mancini’s and Eastwood’s music, the audience roared their approval as a 10 1/2 foot high by 16 1/2 foot wide image of the stamp slowly lowered from the ceiling while the Henry Mancini Institute (HMI) Orchestra played a medley of Mancini standards, starting with the playful “The Pink Panther” and ending with a rousing rendition of “Peter Gunn.”

“Henry would never have imagined the magnitude of the influence he has had in the world of music. This stamp represents that impact, and his family is justifiably proud,” said Ginny Mancini. She called for everyone to support music education and to promote awareness by using the stamp next year.

Also a popular pianist and concert conductor, Mancini left a rich legacy of catchy TV
themes, hit songs and unforgettable film scores, such as “Peter Gunn,” “Moon River” and “The Pink Panther.” He won many awards, including 20 Grammys and four Oscars, and his albums have sold more than 30 million copies.

Henry Mancini was born April 16, 1924, in Cleveland, Ohio, and named Enrico by his
Italian immigrant parents. In the late 1920s, the Mancinis moved to Pennsylvania when Henry’s father found work at a steel mill in the Pittsburgh area. Henry learned to play the piccolo from his father, took formal flute and piano lessons, and began writing music arrangements on his own.

The fall before his 18th birthday, he entered New York’s Juilliard School of Music on a scholarship.

At 18, Mancini was drafted into the Army Air Corps and assigned to a military band led by Norman Leyden. After World War II ended, Mancini went back to New York, where Leyden, then chief arranger for the reorganized Glenn Miller Orchestra (Miller had died in the war), recommended him for a job. The orchestra’s new leader, Tex Beneke, hired him as a pianist. In 1947, Mancini married Ginny O’Connor, a singer with the band, and moved to Burbank, Calif., where he found various jobs performing, composing and arranging music.

In 1952 Mancini wrote music for “Lost in Alaska,” an Abbott and Costello film, which led to more work, including arrangements for “The Glenn Miller Story” (1954).

One of his earliest complete scores was written in 1957 for “Man Afraid.” The next year he scored Orson Welles’s “Touch of Evil” and wrote music for Peter Gunn, a TV drama produced and directed by Blake Edwards. Mancini’s first record album, “The Music from Peter Gunn,” sold more than a million copies, a first for a jazz album. It won two Grammys — Best Arrangement and Album of the Year — and made Mancini a recording star.

>From the 1950s to the early 1990s, Henry Mancini wrote complete scores for more than 70 films, many of which showed how expressive the jazz form could be. He collaborated with Blake Edwards on several movies, notably “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961), “The Pink Panther” (1964), “The Great Race” (1965) and “10” (1979). With other directors, he worked on various films including “Charade” (1963) and “Wait Until Dark” (1967), among others. Mancini also wrote themes for “Mr. Lucky,” “Newhart,” “Remington Steele,” “Hotel” and other TV shows.

Mancini died on June 14, 1994. Each year, in his honor, the American Society of
Composers, Authors and Publishers presents the Henry Mancini Award to someone following in his footsteps — another talented individual who has made outstanding achievements and contributions to the music of film and television.

Mancini’s legacy also continues through the work of the HMI. Based in Los Angeles, this nonprofit organization was established in 1997 by the late composer/arranger Jack Elliott to honor Mancini and nurture the future of music. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Patrick Williams, the HMI provides comprehensive professional training for emerging musicians, along with a range of community outreach programs. For further information, visit www.manciniinstitute.org.

Stamp artist Victor Stabin’s painting shows Mancini conducting as the titles of some of his most popular film and television projects appear to scroll over a screen behind him. The Pink Panther in the lower left is a further reminder of one of Mancini’s popular works.

Current U.S. stamps, as well as a free comprehensive catalog, are available by toll-free phone order at 1 800 STAMP-24. A selection of stamps and other philatelic items are available at the online Postal Store at www.usps.com/shop. In addition, custom-framed art prints of original stamp art are available at www.postalartgallery.com.

Since 1775, the U.S. Postal Service has connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses by mail. It is an independent federal agency that visits 140 million homes and businesses every day and is the only service provider to deliver to every address in the nation. The Postal Service receives no taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives its operating revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and services. With annual revenues of more than $66 billion, it is the world’s leading provider of mail and delivery services, offering some of the most affordable postage rates in the world. The Postal Service delivers more than 43 percent of the world’s mail volume — some 203 billion letters, advertisements, periodicals and packages a year — and serves seven million customers each day at its 38,000 retail locations nationwide.

www.usps.com,
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Media Contact: Don Smeraldi (202) 268-6524
August 18, 2003 Postal Service Web Site: www.usps.com
Stamp News Release Number: 03-045