Jun 9, 2026 10:54 AM
In Memoriam: James Blood Ulmer, 1940–2026
With deep sorrow and profound love, we announce the passing of James Blood Ulmer, a boldly innovative guitarist,…
Johnson provided the slithery, smoky sax lead on Henry Mancini’s theme for the 1963 Peter Sellers film The Pink Panther.
(Photo: Michael Jackson)Plas Johnson, a jazz and R&B tenor saxophonist whose sound — if not his name — was known to millions of people across multiple generations, died July 15 at a retirement community in Los Angeles. He was six days shy of his 95th birthday. His death was confirmed to the New York Times by his children, Eric Johnson and Stephanie Oliver.
Johnson’s iconic moment came when, in 1963, he provided the slithery, smoky sax lead on Henry Mancini’s theme for the Peter Sellers film The Pink Panther. The movie became an international hit, as did the theme, nominated for both Academy and Grammy awards; when the film spun off an animated Pink Panther character and franchise, Johnson’s saxophone became as legendary with children around the globe as with adults.
Yet Johnson had a fuller and richer musical career than his three minutes of celluloid fame suggests. A Louisiana native, he played in a family band as a child, then in a partnership with his brother in New Orleans before moving to Los Angeles and building a livelihood as a session musician. He was a house saxophonist for Capitol Records and also worked steadily with the Wrecking Crew, an assemblage of the most prolific session players in the business from the 1950s through the ’90s. He joined the studio band for The Merv Griffin Show in 1970, remaining there for the next 15 years.
Plas John Johnson Jr. was born July 21, 1931, in Donaldsville, Louisiana, a town between Baton Rouge in New Orleans. The family was a musical one, and Plas sang with them before his father gave him a soprano saxophone when he was 12. The elder Johnson also gave his son rudimentary lessons, but the latter was mostly self-taught and moved to alto, tenor and baritone as he progressed.
He and his brother Ray, a pianist, played in New Orleans as the Johnson Brothers until he began touring with rhythm-and-blues singer Charles Brown in 1951. Drafted that same year into the Army, Johnson played in a military band in California; upon his 1954 discharge he moved to Los Angeles and began working with singer Johnny Otis and saxophonist Maxwell Davis. He quickly gained the attention of Capitol Records producer Dave Cavanaugh, who began booking him for studio sessions that included jazz, pop, R&B, rock ’n’ roll and film score work.
Long before the Pink Panther session, Johnson had recorded behind Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Rosemary Clooney and Peggy Lee, as well as playing the famous piccolo flute hook on Bobby Day’s 1958 single “Rockin’ Robin.” After The Pink Panther (on which Johnson appeared as a permanent member of the Henry Mancini Orchestra), he further appeared on The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds as well as albums by The Monkees, Barbra Streisand, Marvin Gaye and Teena Marie.
Johnson first recorded under his own name in 1956; he led sporadic recording dates over the next three decades, as well as gigs at jazz festivals around the world. (He also recorded two easy-listening jazz albums in the 1960s under the pseudonym Johnny Beecher.) While playing in the Griffin band, he also continued his session work on the side, becoming a regular member of Nelson Riddle’s studio orchestra and Gene Harris’ All-Star and Super Bands in the 1980s. In 2006, Johnson relived his commercial triumph, recording a new version of the Pink Panther theme for a reboot of the movie franchise starring Steve Martin.
In addition to Eric Johnson and Stephanie Oliver, Johnson is survived by his second wife, Carol Johnson (a previous marriage, to Elizabeth Blinkenberg, ended in divorce); four other children, Cheryl Johnson, David Johnson, Denise Hurley and Philip Nunn; eight grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren. DB
To the world, James Blood Ulmer was a legend, a visionary and a musical force whose sound was distinctive and unique. To his family, he was their teacher, their storyteller and a source of strength.
Jun 9, 2026 10:54 AM
With deep sorrow and profound love, we announce the passing of James Blood Ulmer, a boldly innovative guitarist,…
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