norman lebrecht
July 21, 2026
Plas Johnson, who played the famous Pink Santher saxophone solo, has died in California in the week of his 95th birthday.
‘We only did two takes, I think…’ he recalled. ‘When we finished, everyone applauded – even the string players, And that’s saying something… They never applaud for anything.’
Plas was a regular member of Henry Mancini’s studio orchestra in 1963 when the Pink Panther theme came up on the music stands.