Ray Anthony was born Raymond Antonini in Pennsylvania on January 22, 1922. He began learning the trumpet from his father. He was a two-year player with Glenn Miller, and then with Jimmy Dorsey. He then formed his own dance group, which was very popular. However, his greatest fame was not as a band leader but as the composer of the Dragnet theme, The Bunny Hop, and Dancing in the Dark. He appeared in a variety of TV and movie shows during the 1950s, including the film, “Daddy Long Legs.” His name is in the lyrics to “Opus One” because he was a leader of the Big Band in the 1940s. Text contributed by users is available under Creative Commons By–SA License. It may also be available under GNU FDL.
