Trivia

He is the last surviving member of Glenn Miller and His Orchestra.

Ray Anthony took decent trumpet chops, Cary Grant-like looks, and a relentless energy for self-promotion and turned them into a long and prosperous series of music business enterprises.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 1751 Vine St.

After Van Doren filed for divorce in 1958, citing "cruelty", 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 theme from Peter Gunn, which reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.

His biggest hit came in 1954, when, after bugging Jack Webb for months to get him to release the recording rights, he recorded a cover of the theme to Webb's cop show, Dragnet.

Son, with Mamie Van Doren, Perry Ray Anthony was born on March 18, 1956.

Anthony was considered one of the most modern big band leaders. In the lyrics to "Opus One", which imagine a number of players performing the song, he is cited along with Les Brown and his Band of Renown: If Mr. Les Brown can make it renowned And Ray Anthony could rock it for me.

Anthony was raised in Cleveland, Ohio and was one of six brothers.

Although much of Anthony's output is considered commercial (or as Down Beat magazine in the 40's would have called it "corn") he has cut several records that swing heartily. ("Anthony Plays Allen" and "Swings The Thing"). These recordings sound so dissimilar from his usual output it is hard to believe it could be the same musician.

Big band's theme song: "The Man With a Horn".

In 1955 he married actress Mamie Van Doren. Their son Perry Ray was born on March 18, 1956. Anthony then began expanding his acting career , including The Five Pennies (in which he portrayed Jimmy Dorsey), and Van Doren's movies High School Confidential (as "Bix") and Girls Town.

After the war he formed his own group. The Ray Anthony Orchestra became popular in the early 1950s with "The Bunny Hop", "Hokey Pokey", and the theme from Dragnet.

In the beginning of the 1980's, Ray led the National resurgence of the big bands.

In the early 1980s, Anthony formed Big Band '80s, with other members of the band including Buddy Rich, Harry James, Les Brown, and Alvino Rey.

Anthony, who has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, continues to be active as a bandleader and musician. 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, film and television themes.

He is an American bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter, and actor.

Among his pianists was Allen "Puddler" Harris, a native of Franklin Parish, Louisiana, who had been a member of the original Ricky Nelson band, and Kellie Greene, who also played the vibraphone.

Anthony and his band appeared in the movie The Girl Can't Help It (1956).

From 1953 to 1954, Anthony was musical director of the television series TV's Top Tunes, and he also appeared as himself in the 1955 film Daddy Long Legs.

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.

The B-side of the single hit "Peter Gun theme" contains the Norwegian song "Tango For two" written by Bjarne Amdahl and Alf Prøysen. "Tango for two' became one of the most requested songs on Radio Luxembourg in 1958. At the end the radio DJ's became so tired of playing the song that they smashed the record.

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.

Anthony was a real entrepeneur, running a web of businesses that included a music publishing house, contracted bands (he bought out Billy May's short-lived big band when it folded), an a nightclub in Hollywood.

Ray Anthony's "Harry James style" trumpet and arrangements were mainly aimed at a more "commercial" oriented crowd rather than jazz fans.

In 1938 he joined Al Donahue and then worked for Glenn Miller from November of 1940 to July of 1941.

He started on the trumpet at the age of 5.

Anthony was also a regular of the Las Vegas circuit, with an act that featured a stand-up comedian and a line of girl singers that included Vicki Carr at one time.

He and his band did the background music for the film, Mardi Gras (1958).

In the 1959-1960 television season, he guest-starred in the episode "Operation Ramrod" of David Hedison's espionage series Five Fingers on NBC.

Anthony was born to an Italian family in Bentleyville, Pennsylvania, but moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, where he studied the trumpet.

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's CBS television show.

In 1957, Anthony and his orchestra recorded the music score for the film This Could Be The Night, with vocals performed by Julie Wilson.

In 1956-1957 he starred in a short-lived television variety show, The Ray Anthony Show.

He spent six months with Jimmy Dorsey before he joined the Navy in 1942, leading his own band in the Pacific until 1946.

Ray Anthony was a close friend of the late Hugh Hefner, and he has appeared in numerous episodes of The Girls Next Door.