West Aliquippa's Henry Mancini to be celebrated with events for centenary of his birthday

Music fans will celebrate the centenary of Henry Mancini's birthday this year at events worldwide.

If Mancini had lived to see his 100th birthday on April 16, the immensely successful composer - and Pride of West Aliquippa - likely would have wanted to celebrate in his favorite way.

"He would want to go to the best Italian restaurant that he knew and have the family around, and his very, very close friends, eating and drinking wine," Monica Mancini, daughter of Mancini, said recently.

So, let's all symbolically raise a glass to Henry, whose legacy is perpetually honored locally with the Henry Mancini Memorial Bridge, the lone roadway entrance into tiny, close-knit West Aliquippa, where Mancini dwelled from age 5 through his graduation from Aliquippa High School in 1942.

"He talked about his West Aliquippa upbringing a lot," Monica said in a phone interview. "He would talk about walking to school in the snow and hard-luck stuff parents talk about."

Each May, the Henry Mancini Musical Theatre Awards take place at the Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center in Midland, recognizing the top-judged performances from high school musicals throughout the quad-county area.

Mancini's children and wife Ginny, who died in 2021, also attended a few Mancini Awards when the event formerly took place at Geneva College.

Eager to keep his legacy aflame well into the future, and to expand awareness to younger audiences, Mancini's family has spearheaded a full slate of 2024 celebratory events.

First, the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles began showcasing all 20 of Mancini's Grammy awards.

Then the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland unveiled this week a Mancini installation featuring Mancini’s Grammy for the inaugural ‘Album of the Year’ 1958, "Music From Peter Gunn,” a bomber jacket with embroidered “Hank" owned by Mancini from Pink Panther Tour, a handwritten score of "Peter Gunn" and memorabilia symbolic of the legends Mancini influenced: Quincy Jones, Cher, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Lionel Richie.

Turner Classic Movies honored Mancini’s birthday with a lineup of programming. The full 24-hour schedule, which aired April 16, featured classics such as "The Pink Panther," "Breakfast at Tiffany’s" and "Days of Wine & Roses." Each of those films will be accompanied by original monologues by the TCM host that includes a brief bit of history and commentary on how each masterpiece was uniquely special.

Mancini's children, including Monica, were set to spend their dad's April 16 birth date at a town gathering in Abruzzo, Italy, where their grandparents immigrated from, settling initially in Cleveland.

On June 23, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and special guest Michael Bublé, will open the iconic outdoor venue's 2024 season with “Henry Mancini: 100th Celebration” featuring the composer's most beloved songs, such as "Moon River" and the theme from "The Pink Panther." Monica Mancini - an acclaimed recording artist in her own right - will be part of the concert lineup from a stage where her father conducted 29 concerts.

Two of Mancini's four Academy Awards, including Best Score for 1961's "Breakfast at Tiffany's," are displayed currently at the Tiffany's jewelry store in Tokyo, along with the film's star, Audrey Hepburn’s dress. The exhibition is open to the public until June 23.and later will travel to the Tiffany's in Paris.

"We've got him well displayed all over the world," Monica said. "It's nice if these Grammy and Oscar awards are on a shelf, but if they can be out there, it's very exciting. As my mother would say, we're spreading the gospel of Mancini far and wide."

Perhaps the biggest outreach will come once work has finished this year on a Mancini tribute album, "Henry Mancini: The 100th Sessions," featuring music stars from many genres and eras, such as Lizzo, Bublé, Snarky Puppy, Take 6, Pat Metheny and Stevie Wonder.

Available June 21, the album's leadoff single, “Peter Gunn,” featuring Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, John Williams and Arturo Sandoval, is out now.

Mention the Mancini name to many music fans in their early 40s or 30s, and you'll get a "Who's that?" said Monica, who performed in a 2014 concert in Midland, as featured vocalist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at the Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center.

"But the minute you sing the first three notes of 'Moon River' or you go 'da-dum, da-dum' (phonetically singing the "Pink Panther" theme) everybody knows the music," Monica said. "So, what we're trying to do as a family is associate the person and the name with the music that you hear. That's our idea with having some young, hip recording artists come in and do their best Henry. We want to have the association with Dad."

Monica and her twin sister, Felice, and brother Chris, joined their mom, Ginny, at the April 28, 1995, ceremony where Beaver County and Aliquippa officials rededicated the West Aliquippa Bridge as the Henry Mancini Memorial Bridge.

"This is the most meaningful honor he has ever received," Ginny said at that ceremony about her husband, who had died 10 months earlier from cancer, at the age of 70. "It would mean more to my husband than all the Grammys and Oscars he received. He always kept Aliquippa in his heart and would drop the name wherever he went."

Many Beaver County fans have clung to the notion Mancini's "Moon River" was inspired by the Ohio River flowing past West Aliquippa.

Indisputable is the influence of Mancini's "Beaver Valley '37 Suite" and its segment "Sons of Italy," the local organization with a band for whom a young Mancini played the flute and piccolo.

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In 1981, Mancini guest-conducted the Aliquippa High School Band as part of a home visit timed with him guest-conducting the Pittsburgh Symphony.

"We went to visit his high school and they gave us these big jackets with the team name on them, which I still have somewhere in the back of the closet," Monica said. "It was very cool going there."

As a composer, Mancini won Oscars for Best Song ("Moon River") and Best Score (1961's "Breakfast at Tiffany's)," Best Song a year later for "The Days of Wine and Roses" then Best Original Song Score for 1982's "Victor/Victoria." He was nominated 12 other times for Oscars, including a few of the "Pink Panther" movies and for Bo Derek's breakout film, "10."

His 20 Grammy triumphs ranged from Best Instrumental Arrangements like “Baby Elephant Walk,” "The Pink Panther," and "A Warm Shade of Ivory” (the love theme from "Romeo & Juliet.") In 1995, the Grammys honored him posthumously with a Lifetime Achievement Grammy.

After his death, his wife made it clear she wanted her husband's music and name to live on and continue touching lives.

"Before she died, she knew the legacy was in good hands and that's what we're doing now, planning something really special and keeping the music playing, as they say," Monica said. "We've got tons of stuff in the pipeline to celebrate the legacy. We've got a good year to throw everything at it and give it our best shot and I think our mother would be very happy."

The Mancini name still conjures pride in Beaver County.

"His musical sensibilities came mainly from the way he grew up," Monica said. "He would have owed a lot of success to growing up where he did, having his father hand him a flute and say, 'Here, I don't want you to be working in the steel mill. I want you to play music.'"

This fall, "The Extraordinary Life of Henry Mancini: Official Graphic Novel" will hit shelves. From the humble beginnings of his father’s flute lessons in West Aliquippa to composing his Oscar-winner scores, this new graphic novel, written by David Calcano and illustrated by the award-winning studio Fantoons, illustrates every step in the journey of Mancini’s pivotal and industry-shaping career.

Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at stady@timesonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: West Aliquippa's Henry Mancini honored with worldwide events in 2024