Ray Anthony & His Orchestra

about

Ray Anthony (born Raymond Antonini, January 20, 1922, Bentleyville, Pennsylvania) is an American bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter and actor. As a child Anthony moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, where he began studying the trumpet with his father. He played in Glenn Miller's band from 1940–1941 and appeared in the Glenn Miller movie Sun Valley Serenade in 1941 before joining the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war he formed his own group. The Ray Anthony Orchestra became very popular in the early 1950s, with recordings that included Anthony's classic dance songs "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. From 1953-1954 Anthony was the musical director on the television series TV's Top Tunes, and he also appeared as himself in the 1955 film Daddy Long Legs. In 1955 Anthony married sex symbol actress Mamie Van Doren and began expanding his own acting career. He starred in a short-lived television 1956-1957 variety show, The Ray Anthony Show. Anthony also appeared in several films during the late 1950s, including The Five Pennies (where 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. Anthony and Van Doren divorced in 1961, and Anthony's brief film ca

top songs

albums

For Dancers & Romantics Only

Ray's Star (volume 2)

The Hits Of Ray Anthony

Dancing Alone Together: Torch Songs for Lovers

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Dream Dancing, Vol. 6: The Sinatra Songbook

The Dream Girl

Essential Jazz Masters

1949-1953, Vol. 3

Capitol Collectors Series

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Ultra-Lounge / Fuzzy Retail Sampler

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100 Gold Jazz Hits

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