Mark Steyn writes about the Blake Edwards/Henry Mancini/Johnny Mercer movies and music. Those were the days. Wine and roses.
Jack Lemmon told me about the first time Mercer and Mancini played it. It was after a long day's shoot of a grueling scene, and Blake Edwards insisted Lemmon accompany him to a big empty soundstage with a small upright piano in the middle. "I didn't want to go, but it turned out to be one of the greatest moments of my professional life," he said. "I'll never forget it. Hank began noodling just softly, softly, and Johnny pulls out an envelope and looks at the back just to remind himself, and Hank gives him the key note, and off he goes."Read it and weep. And be grateful for the contributions of people such as Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer. I got a CD compilation for Christmas that contains 56 compositions from movies of the last six decades. It's remarkable how unremarkable the last 10 years are.