Ray Anthony(I)
- Actor
- Music Department
- Producer
Ray Anthony (real name Raymond Antonini) was born in Bentleyville, PA,
on Jan. 20, 1922. His family moved to Cleveland, where he spent most of
his early life. There he studied trumpet with his father. From
1940-1941 he played in
Glenn Miller and His Orchestra.
He enlisted in the US Navy in 1942 and was discharged in 1946. He also
played in the Jimmy Dorsey and
Al Donahue bands before forming his own band
in the Midwest. He was a summer replacement for
Perry Como on both CBS and NBC. Anthony
recorded for Capitol Records for 19 years and later ran another record
company, Wood Records, for nine years. He was once married to actress
Mamie Van Doren. His biggest hits were
the themes from Dragnet (1951) and
Peter Gunn (1958), along with
being one of the top big bands of the post-WW2 era.
