Ray Anthony

Ray Anthony
Ray Anthony in 1947
Background information
Birth name	Raymond Antonini
Born	(1922-01-20) January 20, 1922 (age 95) Bentleyville, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	Bandleader, trumpeter
Instruments	Trumpet
Years active	1936–present
Labels	Aero Space Records, Capitol
Associated acts	Frank Sinatra, Glenn Miller, Al Donahue, Jimmy Dorsey

Ray Anthony (born January 20, 1922) is an American bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter and actor. He is the last surviving member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra.

Anthony was born in Bentleyville, Pennsylvania but moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, where he studied the trumpet. He played in Glenn Miller's band from 1940–1942 and appeared in the Glenn Miller movie Sun Valley Serenade before joining the U.S. Navy during World War Two. After the war he formed his own group. The Ray Anthony Orchestra became very popular in the early 1950s, with "The Bunny Hop" and the "Hokey Pokey", as well as the theme music from Dragnet. He had a #2 chart hit with a remake of the Glenn Miller tune, "At Last", in 1952, the highest charting pop version of the song in the U.S.

In 1953, Anthony and his orchestra were featured when Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly headlined a summer replacement program for Perry Como's CBS television show.

From 1953-1954 Anthony was the musical director of the television series TV's Top Tunes, and he also appeared as himself in the 1955 film Daddy Long Legs. In 1955 Anthony married his second wife, the sex symbol actress Mamie Van Doren. Their son Perry Ray was born March 18, 1956. He then began expanding his own acting career. In 1956-1957 he starred in a short-lived television variety show, The Ray Anthony Show. Anthony also appeared in several films during the late 1950s, including The Five Pennies (in which he portrayed Jimmy Dorsey), and Van Doren's movies High School Confidential (as "Bix") and Girls Town. In the 1959-1960 television season, he guest-starred in the episode "Operation Ramrod" of David Hedison's espionage series Five Fingers on NBC. In 1957, Anthony and his orchestra recorded the music score for the film This Could Be The Night, with vocals performed by Julie Wilson. Anthony also had a role in the film, playing himself.