#plasjohnson — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #plasjohnson, aggregated by home.social.
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«Vaaleanpunaisen pantterin musiikki oli ehdolla myös Oscarin saajaksi, mutta hävisi Maija Poppasen musiikille.» 🥹
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Last Word obit programme
Brenda Fricker: The first Irish woman to win an Oscar
Brenda Fricker became the first Irish woman to win an Academy Award for her performance in the film “My Left Foot”. She began her career with parts in Ireland’s first soap opera Tolka Row, ITV’s Coronation Street, and became a household name as the nurse Megan Roach in Casualty on the BBC. Her friend and fellow actress Anna Friel pays tribute.
The BBC’s long-serving correspondent David Willey was a renowned authority on the Vatican, covering the lives and deaths of five popes. Before he settled in Rome, David had travelled widely for the BBC, reporting from Algeria, the Vietnam War and China just after the communist revolution. Two of his colleagues, former Chief News Correspondent Kate Adie and International Editor Jeremy Bowen, share their memories of working with him.
The name David Austin is forever indelibly associated with the rose growing business. He created some of the most sought after roses, naming new varieties after fictional or real-life people, including Gabriel Oak from Far From the Madding Crowd, the actress Dame Judi Dench and ceramicist Emma Bridgewater - who pays tribute to him alongside Gardeners' World presenter Sue Kent.
Wally Funk broke records as the oldest person to go to space onboard Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Rocket in 2021. In the early 1960s she was part of a group of women known as the Mercury 13 who were tested to see if they could compete with male astronauts for a place in the American space programme. But the project was abandoned and her hopes dashed. Loretta Hall, who co-wrote her memoir, tells us her story.
( ... also featuring The Pink Panther saxophone guy ...)
Producer: Ben Mitchell
Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Andrea KennedyArchive:
"My Left Foot", Ferndale Films, Granada Film, RTÉ, Hell's Kitchen Films; BBC One, Wogan, 16/02/1990; 62nd Academy Awards, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 26/03/1990; BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour, 05/03/1997; BBC One, Wogan, 15/02/1991; BBC Radio 4, Sunday, 10/03/2013; BBC Radio 4, Archive on 4, From our Rome Correspondent, 07/04/2012; BBC One, RHS Chelsea Flower Show, 21/05/2007; BBC One, Football Focus, 06/10/2018; BBC Radio 4, Woman's Hour, 19/06/2019; BBC News, 19/06/1983; Blue Origin, YouTube, 20/07/2021; Other audio courtesy of Loretta Hall -
With the news today that American saxophonist Plas Johnson passed away earlier this month, I just have to share this moment of him in action. Sleep well Plas
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R.I.P. Plas Johnson (1931-2026)
I first heard news of the death of tenor saxophonist Plas Johnson (left) a couple of days ago, and since then there have been numerous tributes including this one in the Irish Times. Almost without fail the obituaries introduce him as the man who played the saxophone part of the Pink Panther theme written by Henry Mancini. In fact, years ago, I won a tiebreak for my team in a pub quiz by knowing the name of the person who played that tune.
Even very good musicians struggled to make a decent living from jazz after the arrival of rock-and-roll as a popular musical phenomenon in the 1950s. Like many jazz performers, Johnson addressed this issue by moving to Los Angeles, where he found work as a session musician working to support such artists as Frank Sinatra and Marvin Gaye, or on film and TV music. Henry Mancini noticed Plas Johnson’s quality and it inspired him to write the Pink Panther film specifically for him. Most of these performances went uncredited, which is why his name isn’t more widely known despite him being a very fine saxophonist. Nonetheless, having the financial security of being much sought after session musician, Plas Johnson was able to continue to pursue his love of jazz. He made some fine albums as leader (I have Positively on vinyl). He also moonlighted as Johnny Beecher to evade contractual issues.
The reason I knew of Plas Johnson as a jazz musician before I found out he was the Pink Panther guy. That’s because I used to listen to Humphrey Lyttelton’s radio programme The Best of Jazz on Radio 2 on Monday evenings from 9pm when I was at school and Plas Johnson came up a few times, including on the track I’ve included below from one of the famous Hanna-Fontana sessions at the Concord Jazz Festival. The recording was made in 1975 but the record wasn’t available in the UK until a couple of years later. I used to tape Humph’s radio shows but no longer have any of the cassettes so I had to spend much of my spare time the last couple of days trying to find the track Humph played. This is it! It features Plas Johnson (ts), clearly enjoying himself in the company of Bill Berry (tpt), Carl Fontana (tb), Herb Ellis (g), Dave McKenna (p), Herb Mickman (b) and Jake Hanna (d). Not a bad line-up!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPxDcA5YNuI
R.I.P. Plas Johnson (1931-2026), so much more than the Pink Panther guy!
#HannaFontanaBand #HenryMancini #JumpinTheBlues #PlasJohnson #ThePinkPanther -
Muere Plas Johnson, el saxofonista que inmortalizó el solo de “La Pantera Rosa” | vía #UChileRadio
#ellafitzgerald #franksinatra #henrymancini #lapanterarosa #plasjohnson
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American musician #PlasJohnson has died 🎷 #PinkPantherTheme #saxophone #flute #piccolo #clarinet #sax #music #PinkPanther
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RIP Plas Johnson (July 21, 1931 – July 15, 2026)
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"The Pink Panther Theme" is a #jazz composition by #HenryMancini written as the theme for the 1963 film #ThePinkPanther and subsequently nominated for the #AcademyAwardForBestOriginalScore at the #37thAcademyAwards but lost to the #ShermanBrothers for #MaryPoppins. The #eponymousCartoonCharacter created for the film's opening credits by #DavidDePatie and #FrizFreleng was animated in time to the tune. The #tenorSaxophone solo was played by #PlasJohnson.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDoDYEFIMas -
"The Pink Panther Theme" is a #jazz composition by #HenryMancini written as the theme for the 1963 film #ThePinkPanther and subsequently nominated for the #AcademyAwardForBestOriginalScore at the #37thAcademyAwards but lost to the #ShermanBrothers for #MaryPoppins. The #eponymousCartoonCharacter created for the film's opening credits by #DavidDePatie and #FrizFreleng was animated in time to the tune. The #tenorSaxophone solo was played by #PlasJohnson.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jxgL_wZiFo -
Joe Williams à Jazz In Marciac le 10 août 1990
#JoeWilliams (voc), #PlasJohnson (ts), #WarrenVaché (tp), Norman Simmons (p), Keter Betts (b), Gerryck King (dr)
#jazz #podcast #francemusique en 2 parties:
https://www.radiofrance.fr/francemusique/podcasts/les-legendes-du-jazz/joe-williams-a-jazz-in-marciac-le-10-aout-1990-1-2-5499568
https://www.radiofrance.fr/francemusique/podcasts/les-legendes-du-jazz/joe-williams-a-jazz-in-marciac-le-10-aout-1990-2-2-5795831 -
"The Pink Panther Theme" is a #jazz composition by #HenryMancini written as the theme for the 1963 film #ThePinkPanther and subsequently nominated for the #AcademyAwardForBestOriginalScore at the #37thAcademyAwards but lost to the #ShermanBrothers for #MaryPoppins. The #eponymousCartoonCharacter created for the film's opening credits by #DavidDePatie and #FrizFreleng was animated in time to the tune. The tenor saxophone solo was played by #PlasJohnson.
https://youtu.be/64bRXGm2Xnk
