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Ray Anthony (born Raymond Antonini; January 20, 1922) is an American retired bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter and actor. He is best known for his tenure as a member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra, from 1940 to 1941 and appearing in the film Sun Valley Serenade.
After returning to professional music in 1945 following a stint in the United States Navy, he became a bandleader in his own Orchestra and had a wrote solo compositions, some of which became chart successes, including "The Bunny Hop", "Thunderbird", "Houseparty Hop", "Trumpet Boogie", "Dream Dancing", "Dream While You Dance", "Dance My Heart", "Let's All Do the Swim", "Big Band Boogie", and "Mr. Anthony's Boogie". Songs written by Ray Anthony. Second Hand Songs. Retrieved 29 June 2025. Thunderbird co-written by Ray Anthony. Discogs. Retrieved 29 June 2025. Trumpet Boogie co-written by Ray Anthony. Discogs. Retrieved 29 June 2025. Big Band Boogie co-written by Ray Anthony. Retrieved 29 June 2025. He also had an amateur acting career and frequently appeared in the tabloids during his brief marriage to actress Mamie Van Doren.
Anthony continued to tour around the United States in big bands before retiring in 1998. At the age of 104, he is the last living member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He is listed as the oldest living recorded musician.
Anthony played in his family group, The Antonini Family Orchestra.
He played in the Glenn Miller Orchestra from 1940 to 1941. He recalled being teased by the other members for being the youngest member: "He (Glenn Miller) was tough but it’s a business. You don’t have much time to do anything but follow the lines". Reportedly, Anthony was constantly fired by Miller due to him repeatedly suggesting new ideas for the band, but was always rehired again as his "skills were so high"; this led to him being nicknamed "Peck's Bad Boy". Ray appeared in the Glenn Miller movie Sun Valley Serenade. Anthony lasted less than a year in the group, leaving without return in 1941 after six months due to him not getting along with Miller. He then briefly played with Jimmy Dorsey before he joined the U.S. Navy in 1942 during World War II as Miller also joined the Army, organizing another famous military band before his 1944 disappearance over the English Channel. While in the Navy, Anthony entertained troops in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
After the war, he remained in the navy for one more year, and upon being discharged formed his own group, The Ray Anthony Orchestra which became popular in the early 1950s with "The Bunny Hop" (#13 on Billboard, #34 on Cash Box), "Hokey Pokey", and the memorable theme from the radio/television police detective series Dragnet, which reached no. 2 on Billboard and no. 7 in the UK.Wynn, Ron " Ray Anthony Biography", Allmusic, retrieved June 17, 2011 He had a No. 2 chart hit on Billboard with a recording of the tune "At Last" in 1952, which also reached no. 20 on Cash Box; it was the highest charting pop version of the song in the U.S. His 1962 recording "Worried Mind" received considerable radio airplay, reaching no. 20 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. 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 to 1954, Anthony was musical director of the television series TV's Top Tunes. In 1957, Anthony and his orchestra recorded the music score for the film This Could Be The Night, (1993). 9780851127323, Guinness Publishing. ISBN 9780851127323 with vocals performed by Julie Wilson.
He continued his musical career and had another hit record with the jazzy drumming theme from the Peter Gunn private detective series featuring Craig Stevens, which reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 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, who had been a member of the original rock singer Ricky Nelson's band, and Kellie Greene, who also played the vibraphone.
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. 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.
Anthony appeared as himself with his orchestra in the 1955 film Daddy Long Legs starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron. 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 alongside Van Doren in the moves High School Confidential (1958) (as "Bix"), The Beat Generation and Girls Town (both 1959).
During the 1959–60 television season, he guest-starred in the episode "Operation Ramrod" of star David Hedison's espionage series Five Fingers on NBC. Anthony and his band appeared in the movie The Girl Can't Help It (1956).
A house Anthony bought in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles in 1952 and lived in for a few years was listed in 2018 for $4.5 million.
Anthony became the last living member of Glenn Miller's band when trombonist Nat Peck died in 2015. He Centenarian on January 20, 2022.
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 has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
| 1950 | Dance Time (split album with Jan Garber one) | Capitol Records | — | — | H-199 |
| 1951 | Arthur Murray Favorites: Fox Trots | — | — | H-258 | |
| 1952 | Houseparty Hop | 10 | — | H-292 | |
| Campus Rumpus! | — | — | H-362 | ||
| 1953 | The Young Man With The Horn | — | — | H-373 | |
| The Anthony Choir | — | — | H-442 | ||
| 1954 | I Remember Glenn Miller | 6 | — | H-476 | |
| Ray Anthony Plays TV's Top Tunes | — | — | H-9118 | ||
| Arthur Murray Swing Fox Trots | — | — | H-546 | ||
| 1955 | Golden Horn | 10 | — | T-563 | |
| Swingin' On Campus! | — | — | T-645 | ||
| Standards By Ray Anthony | — | — | T-663 | ||
| Big Band Dixieland | — | — | T-678 | ||
| 1956 | Dream Dancing | 15 | 21 | T-723 | |
| Jam Session at the Tower | — | — | T-749 | ||
| 1957 | Dancers in Love | — | — | T-786 | |
| Star Dancing | — | — | T-831 | ||
| Young Ideas | — | — | T-866 | ||
| This Could Be The Night | MGM Records | — | — | E3530 ST | |
| 1958 | Moments Together | Capitol | — | — | T-917 |
| The Dream Girl | — | — | T-969 | ||
| Dancing Over the Waves | — | — | T-1028 | ||
| Anthony Plays Steve Allen | — | — | T-1086 | ||
| 1959 | Anthony Italiano | — | — | ST-1149 | |
| Sounds Spectacular | — | — | ST-1200 | ||
| More Dream Dancing | — | — | ST-1252 | ||
| 1960 | Like Wild! | — | — | ST-1304 | |
| Dancing Alone Together: Torch Songs For Lovers | — | — | ST-1420 | ||
| The New Ray Anthony Show | — | — | ST-1421 | ||
| 1961 | That's Show Biz | — | — | ST-1496 | |
| Swing-Dance-Dream to 'The Unsinkable Molly Brown' | — | — | ST-1576 | ||
| Dream Dancing Medley | — | — | ST-1608 | ||
| The Twist | — | — | ST-1668 | ||
| 1962 | Worried Mind: The Soul Of Country Western Blues | 14 | 15 | ST-1752 | |
| I Almost Lost My Mind: The Soul Of Big City Rhythm & Blues | — | — | ST-1783 | ||
| 1964 | Smash Hits of '63! | — | — | ST-1917 | |
| Charade and Other Top Themes | — | — | ST-2043 | ||
| My Love, Forgive Me (Amore Scusami) | — | — | ST-2150 | ||
| Swim, Swim, C'mon and Swim | — | — | ST-2188 | ||
| 1966 | Dream Dancing Today | — | — | ST-2457 | |
| Hit Songs to Remember | — | 93 | ST-2530 | ||
| To Each His Own | Sears | — | — | SP-429 | |
| 1967 | Today's Trumpet | Capitol | — | — | ST-2750 |
| 1968 | Ray Anthony Now | Ranwood | — | — | RLP-8033 |
| 1969 | Lo Mucho Que Te Quiero (The More I Love You) | — | — | RLP-8046 | |
| Love Is For The Two Of Us AKA | — | — | RLP-8059 | ||
| 1970 | I Get The Blues When It Rains reissue | — | — | RLP-8062 | |
| 1971 | Direction '71: My Sweet Lord | — | — | RLP-8078 | |
| Dream Dancing in Hawaii | Aero Space | — | — | RA-1004 | |
| 1972 | Dream Dancing Around The World | — | — | SR 1007 | |
| 1975 | A Little Bit Country | Capitol | — | — | SM-11411 |
| 1976 | Great Golden Hits | Ranwood | — | — | R-8153 |
| 1978 | Touch Dancing | Aero Space | — | — | RA-1008 |
| Swing Goes On Vol. 10 | Capitol | — | — | 1 C 054-52 719 | |
| Dance Along | Sunnyvale | — | — | SVL-1018 | |
| 1980 | Big Band Series/Original Recording | Picc-a-dilly | — | — | PIC-3422 |
| 1981 | Volume II-Big Band Series | — | — | PIC-3545 | |
| 1987 | Best 20 | Capitol | — | — | CP32-5391 |
| 1988 | A Música De Glenn Miller | — | — | 054 791016 | |
| 1988 & All That Jazz | Aero Space | — | — | RACD-1030 | |
| 1989 | Ray Anthony | Capitol | — | — | CP28-5908 |
| 1993 | In The Miller Mood Vol. II | Aero Space | — | — | RACD-1037 |
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