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

Biography

Anthony was born to an Italian family in Bentleyville, Pennsylvania, but moved with his family to

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, where he studied the trumpet. He played in Glenn Miller's band from 1940 to 1941 and appeared in the Glenn Miller movie '' Sun Valley Serenade'' before joining the U.S. Navy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as Miller joined the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

, organizing another famous military band before his 1944 disappearance over the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. After the war he formed his own group. The Ray Anthony Orchestra which became popular in the early 1950s with " The Bunny Hop", " Hokey Pokey", and the memorable theme from the radio/television police detective series '' Dragnet''.Wynn, Ron
Ray Anthony Biography
,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, retrieved June 17, 2011 He had a No. 2 chart hit with a recording of the tune " At Last" in 1952; it was the highest charting pop version of the song in the U.S. His 1962 recording "Worried Mind" received considerable radio airplay. In 1953, Anthony and his orchestra were featured when Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly headlined a summer replacement program for

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987 ...

's CBS television show. From 1953 to 1954, Anthony was musical director of the television series '' TV's Top Tunes'', and appeared as himself with his orchestra in the 1955 film '' Daddy Long Legs'' starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron. In 1955, he married actress Mamie Van Doren. Their son Perry Ray was born on March 18, 1956. Anthony began expanding his acting career.Mamie van Doren, Ray Anthony Wed
, '' Lewiston Daily Sun'', August 30, 1955, p. 11, retrieved June 17, 2011 In 1956–57, he starred in a short-lived television variety show, ''The Ray Anthony Show''. He 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''. During the 1959–60 television season, he guest-starred in the episode "Operation Ramrod" of star David Hedison's

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

series '' Five Fingers'' on NBC. Anthony and his band appeared in the movie '' The Girl Can't Help It'' (1956). In 1957, Anthony and his orchestra recorded the music score for the film '' This Could Be The Night'', with vocals performed by Julie Wilson. After Van Doren filed for divorce in 1958, citing "cruelty",Divorce Sought
, '' Spokane Daily Chronicle'', September 9, 1958, p. 8, retrieved June 17, 2011 they finally divorced in 1961, and Anthony's brief film career ended at about the same time. However, he continued his musical career and had another hit record with the jazzy drumming theme from the ''

Peter Gunn ''Peter Gunn'' is an American detective fiction, private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens (actor), Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, lounge singer Edie Hart. The series was broadcast by NBC from Sept ...

'' private detective series featuring Craig Stevens, which reached No. 8 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

pop chart with its popularity enduring for decades. The B-side of this single hit "Peter Gun theme" also contains the Norwegian song " Tango for Two" written by Bjarne Amdahl and Alf Prøysen. Among the Anthony band's pianists was Allen "Puddler" Harris, a native of Franklin Parish, in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, who had been a member of the original rock singer Ricky Nelson's band, and Kellie Greene, who also played the vibraphone. Anthony's compositions include "Thunderbird", "The Bunny Hop", "Trumpet Boogie", "Big Band Boogie", and "Mr. Anthony's Boogie". Anthony was considered one of the most modern

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

leaders. In the lyrics to " Opus One", which imagine a number of players all performing the song, he is cited along with Les Brown and his Band of Renown: Anthony became the last living member of Glenn Miller's band when trombonist Nat Peck died in 2015. He turned 100 on January 20, 2022.

Later career

In the early 1980s, Anthony formed Big Band '80s, with other members of the band including Buddy Rich,

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band to great commercial success from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947, but ...

, Les Brown, and Alvino Rey. Anthony has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His later works tended to break away from the big-band jazz style of his earlier days, ranging from MOR and lounge music to

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, film and television themes.

Discography

References

External links

Ray Anthony Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (2008) *
Ray Anthony biography at SwingMusic.net

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anthony, Ray 1922 births 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American trumpeters Ace Records (United States) artists American men centenarians American jazz bandleaders American jazz trumpeters American male film actors American male jazz musicians American male television actors American male trumpeters American music arrangers American big band bandleaders Capitol Records artists Glenn Miller Orchestra members Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania Living people Military personnel from Pennsylvania Musicians from Pittsburgh People from Bentleyville, Pennsylvania Singers from Pennsylvania United States Navy personnel of World War II