A panther that is positively pink

If I was to say Pink Panther what's the first thing that comes into your mind? A priceless diamond? A bumbling French detective? Peter Sellers? Henry Mancini? A panther pink from head to toe? Or maybe all of the above? 

The Pink Panther film and animation franchise begat by Blake Edwards in 1963 threw up (courtesy of the aforementioned Mr. Mancini) one of the most memorable film scores ever. We can all recognise the iconic tune after hearing just the first four notes; that's because it's hard wired into our brains. Another name you could have thrown into the mix is Tubby Hayes. Legendary UK jazzer Edward Brian Hayes, whilst not present on the original recording (the lead sax part you hear in the film was played by the American musician Plas Johnson), did play it live on UK TV in 1964 with the Henry Mancini Orchestra and, as they say, made it his own. The whole performance (all three minutes, ten seconds of it) is, I hope you'll agree, a thing of  beauty.

Henry Mancini (1924-1994)

Peter Sellers (1925-1980)

Tubby Hayes (1935-1973)