Saxophonist Plas Johnson, best known for The Pink Panther Theme, has died at the age of 94 US news

American jazz saxophonist Plas Johnson, best known for his solo album The Pink Panther Theme, has died at the age of 94, according to reports.

Born in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, he died on July 15, according to a report from Los Angeles jazz station KKJZ.

Johnson’s hometown newspaper, the Mayor of Donaldsonville, he added in another report he died in Granada Hills, a neighborhood in Los Angeles. Social media posts by users identifying themselves as Louisiana relatives of the singer also shared news of Johnson’s death.

“My cousin Mr Plas Johnson passed away,” a Facebook user from Donaldsonville said on July 17. The post added: “RIP Cuz.”

He was most famous for his play The Pink Panther Theme, which he wrote in 1963 with the late American composer Henry Mancini. The film’s score later ranked 20th on the American Film Institute’s list of the highest-grossing films of all time.

It also won three Grammy awards and was nominated for an Oscar for best performance at the 37th Academy Awards.

“We only took two, I think,” Johnson once said, according to Chief Donaldsonville. “When we finished, everyone clapped, even the string players.”

Johnson, who played the tenor saxophone solo, added jokingly: “And he’s saying something…

He began his musical career with his family before his father, who played banjo and saxophone, bought him a soprano saxophone.

Johnson began recording in 1950 with his brother, Ray, at DeLuxe Records before touring with singer and pianist Charles Brown.

After moving from soprano to alto and tenor saxophone, Johnson moved to Los Angeles in 1954, where he became a musician. photography and artists who, besides Mancini, including BB King, Johnny Otis, Frank Sinatra, Marvin Gaye and Nat King Cole.

“My writing always seems to lead to another story,” Johnson he said. “I can do that in eight bars, I can do that in 12 bars and I’m used to do(ing) the fill behind the singer afterwards,” he added.

Johnson died six days before turning 95, according to KKJZ and Chief Donaldsonville.