Who was Ginny Mancini? Band Singer, Wife of Late Composer Henry Mancini, Dies at 97
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Ginny Mancini, then big-band singer, widow of songwriter Henry Mancini died Monday night at Malibu home. She died at the age of 97.
Who was Ginny Mancini?
Ginny Mancini is an actress, famously known for the Ray Anthony Show, Henry Mancini: More than Music, and Johnny Mercer. She was born in Los Angeles in 1924. Her father was Irish, and her mother was from Mexico. When Ginny was in high school, she auditioned for the glee club at Bret House.
In one of the interviews, Ginny said, “I founded Society of Singers in 1984. I founded this society for all the singers who are in need. It was my first time volunteering. I founded this society so that no other singer should face the same humiliation which I faced.” After that, the society raised millions of singers who were in dire need. The society helped singers to give a platform and resources.
Moreover, she was also the president of the Henry Mancini institute who supported many professional singers. This institute is now based at Miami’s Frost School of Music. Ginny was also the director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
In her whole life, she did many charities and helped many musicians in need. It was the time when she continuously helped many people around her.
The band which she formed during high school with two other classm ates was known as Mel-Tones. She was the singer in that band from 1943- 1946. In an NPR show in 2015, she recalled and said, “It was the best time of my life. I still feel happy. I sang with Mel Torme. Mel was a great person who arranged everything in the band. The arrangements done in the band were so fresh and different.”
After that, she constantly sang in radio shows and various films, including “The Harvey Girls “at MGM and “The Music Man” at Warner Bros.
Ginny said further in the interview that, “I was a backup singer. I was happy because there is too much pressure up front.”
How did she meet Henry Mancini?
She met Henry Mancini in 1946. He was playing piano and writing arrangements for the band in Glenn Miller’s orchestra. She said, “When I saw Henry, he was playing the piano. He was a tall, young and handsome Italian kid.”
In the 1950s, Henry started his career as a film composer. At that time, Ginny raised his three children and did a part-time job as a singer in various studios. She also worked in various TV variety shows. In one of the interviews, Ginny said to the audience,” You cannot have the best partner. He won Oscar awards and 20 Grammys. My love died due to cancer, but he is still alive in my heart.”
Ginny died this Monday but left behind many memories and love. She always supported and helped all the artists. Her love for her husband and memories still resides in everyone’s heart.
Shweta Tripathi
I have graduated as an engineer and has been writing since 1-2 years from college media outlets to other media websites. I have written columns on local magazines and working more on SEO based content writing.
