Henry Mancini

Enrico Nicola "Henry" Mancini (April 16, 1924 - June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor and arranger.
Mancini was born in Little Italy, Cleveland and raised in West Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. He served in the United States Army from 1943-1945.
Mancini's best known works include: The Pink Panther Theme, the Peter Gunn Theme, Moon River and Days of Wine and Roses. He won Grammy Awards, Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.
Mancini died aged 70 of pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles, California.
Influences.
Mancini stated composers like Bernard Herrmann, Giacomo Puccini, Cole Porter, Mantovani, Rudolph G. Kopp, Ernst Krenek, Ludwig van Beethoven, Max Steiner, Nino Rota, Robert Schumann, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Glenn Miller, Gioachino Rossini, Miklós Róza, Benny Goodman, Frédéric Chopin, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Morton Gould, Alfred Newman and Tex Beneke as influences.