Piero Umiliani (17 July 1926 – 14 February 2001) was an Italian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

Biography

Umiliani was born in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

. Like many of his Italian colleagues at that time, he composed the scores for many exploitation films in the 1960s and 1970s, covering genres such as

Spaghetti Western The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

Eurospy Eurospy film, or Spaghetti spy film (when referring to Italian-produced films in the genre), is a genre of spy films produced in Europe, especially in Italy, France, and Spain, that either sincerely imitated or else parodied the British James ...

Giallo In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, ...

, and softcore sex films. His composition "

Mah Nà Mah Nà "Mah Nà Mah Nà" is a popular song by Italian composer Piero Umiliani. It originally appeared in the Italian film '' Sweden: Heaven and Hell'' (''Svezia, inferno e paradiso''). It was a minor radio hit in the United States and in Britain, but bec ...

" (1968) was originally used in '' Sweden: Heaven and Hell'', a 1968 Mondo documentary about

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

. It was a minor charting single (spending 6 weeks on the

Billboard chart The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

and peaking at #55, and reaching #22 in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

), popularized by ''

The Red Skelton Show ''The Red Skelton Show'' is an American television comedy/variety show that aired from 1951 to 1971. In the decade prior to hosting the show, Richard "Red" Skelton had a successful career as a radio and motion pictures star. Although his televi ...

'', first airing in October 1969, and

The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompas ...

, who

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of copy ...

the song several times; starting on episode 0014 of ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000 ...

'' on 27 November 1969, then ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

'' three days later, and again on the syndicated series ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as ...

'' in 1977. The track was also a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

in the UK, reaching number 8 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in May 1977. Umiliani's other scores included ''

Son of Django ''Son of Django'' ( it, Il figlio di Django, also known as ''Vengeance Is a Colt 45'' and ''Return of Django'') is a 1967 Italian Spaghetti Western film written and directed by Osvaldo Civirani. Plot When he was a child, Jeff Tracey's father, Djan ...

'', ''

Orgasmo ''Orgasmo'' is a 1969 giallo film directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring Carroll Baker, Lou Castel, and Colette Descombes. It follows a wealthy American socialite who finds herself preyed upon by two nefarious young siblings who indulge her ...

'', ''

Gangster's Law ''Gangster's Law'' ( it, La legge dei gangsters) is a 1969 Italian thriller film directed by Siro Marcellini and starring Klaus Kinski. Cast * Klaus Kinski as Quintero * Maurice Poli as Rino Quintero * Franco Citti as Bruno Esposito * Samy Pa ...

'', '' Death Knocks Twice'', '' Five Dolls for an August Moon'', ''

Baba Yaga In Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga, also spelled Baba Jaga (from Polish), is a supernatural being (or one of a trio of sisters of the same name) who appears as a deformed and/or ferocious-looking woman. In fairy tales Baba Yaga flies around in a ...

'', '' The Slave'' and '' Sex Pot''. His orchestra score "Arrivano I Marines" for ''

War Italian Style ''Due marines e un generale'' (translated: ''Two Marines and a General'', internationally released as ''War Italian Style'') is a 1965 Italian comedy film directed by Luigi Scattini. The film puts together the famous Italian comic duo Franco and C ...

'', a 1966 comedy about two

USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

soldiers in Italy, is used in the Armored Trooper Votoms series as "March of the Red Shoulders". His composition "Crepuscolo Sul Mare" was later used in ''

Ocean's Twelve ''Ocean's Twelve'' is a 2004 American heist comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by George Nolfi. The second installment in the ''Ocean's'' film trilogy franchise and the sequel to ''Ocean's Eleven'' (2001), the film features a ...

''. More recently, his composition ''Echi Della Natura'' featured on the soundtrack of Ashim Ahluwalia’s 2012 film, ''

Miss Lovely ''Miss Lovely'' is a 2012 Indian drama film directed by Ashim Ahluwalia and set in the criminal depths of Mumbai's C-grade (horror and porn film) industry. Ahluwalia's debut feature follows the story of the Duggal brothers who produce sleazy se ...

''. Umiliani died in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in February 2001, at the age of 74.

Selected filmography

References

External links

* *
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Umiliani, Piero 1926 births 2001 deaths Musicians from Florence Italian film score composers Italian male film score composers 20th-century Italian musicians 20th-century Italian male musicians