Quotes from Henry Mancini

A good theme - like the 'Pink Panther' or 'Baby Elephant Walk' - can work all the way through the picture, which is what I did with them. So, for me, a good melody is not just a pretty tune.

Themes on some TV shows are overdone. That 'Playhouse 90' theme music was an example.

You're molded by the period you were brought up in.

I had no idea 'Moon River' would do so well. I was too busy working to think about it.

In 'Charade,' there was a big fight. George Kennedy was playing one of his first big heavy roles; he had a hook for a hand, and he was real ugly. Cary Grant was Cary Grant. They were on a slanted roof, a very exciting fight, and we agreed there shouldn't be any music, just the grunts and the action.

I wanted to be up there with all those names like Max Steiner.

Stravinsky influenced film music in general - those stabbing chords and rhythms from 'The Rite of Spring.'

I have an Otari with a Korg T2 Midi synthesizer, a drum machine and a few effects units.

I just think the time and where I was brought up had a great deal to do in giving me the ambition to kind of get out and do something and not go into the steel mill.

I was never In a restaurant until after I left home. My mother came from Abruzzi and they're noted for their great cooking.

Blake Edwards has set up an extraordinary combination of moods in 'Peter Gunn.' When you stop to analyze it, you can't find the boundaries where the music stops and the show takes over.

I used to be selected for the Pennsylvania all-state orchestra. It was a thrill to go from my home town of Aliquippa clear across the state to Lancaster for the concerts. No kid is immune to that kind of experience.

I play a very streamlined piano.

In times of stress, I frequently remind myself that I'm doing what I want to do most and that's what really counts.

Most everything I've ever written has .been done to 'assignment.'

I don't know if I've ever written a song that wasn't on assignment.

Hopefully the music of the future will not be all electronic. There is a place for it if it is used sparingly.