![]() ![]() Even Anthony wasn’t apprised of her planned attendance. Befitting the glamour of her ingénue profile, Monroe arrived at the party in a Bell helicopter wearing a radiant pink dress that would have been visible hundreds of feet above the crowd, long before any of the guests knew who was arriving. Monroe, who had yet to become a household name. Perhaps the most legendary of Anthony’s exploits was the 1952 release party for his orchestra’s swooning single “Marilyn,” written for Ms. “If I had to go, they had to go,” Anthony joked. The hours were rigorous and the touring was exhausting, 18 band members and their equipment passing from coast to coast without pause. Anthony’s occasional trumpet solo breaks were melodic and deliberate but less the result of improvisatory brilliance and more intended to heighten the dance floor frenzy with force rather than filigree. Anthony’s Boogie,” “Big Band Boogie,”) and the foxtrot, which were often paired with a few dance steps from the enterprising Arthur Murray, were equally successful. His contributions to the lost art of the boogie (“Trumpet Boogie,” “Mr. The Ray Anthony Orchestra was a prolific ensemble, releasing countless dance singles in the early 1950s, including “The Hokey Pokey” and “The Bunny Hop” - swinging trifles that captured a national audience almost immediately. His resemblance to Cary Grant was a punchline for both men. As a result, Anthony found himself in the Navy, entertaining the troops at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu, then still a tense battleground.Īnthony emerged from the war with his Hollywood-handsome features and the confidence of a veteran showman, spending the next dozen years on televisions and radios across America. Amid a flurry of well wishers chiming in by telephone and at the front door, Anthony took time to reflect on his century of stories with a sly sense of self and appreciation for all that he had seen along the way.īy the end of 1941, the acceleration of the war had disrupted the frivolity of the big band scene and many musicians offered their talents to the home front. ![]() Amid balloons shaped like the number “100” and the arrival of a pizza adorned with the number inscribed in olives, Anthony remarked that “they really wanted to remind me of my age!” Though his hearing has diminished considerably, his memory is still sharp. Anthony’s Hollywood Hills property remains as he envisioned it in 1975, complete with lush carpets, a sunken dining room and a view of the ocean, weather permitting. 20, Anthony celebrated his 100th birthday surrounded by friends and Perry Anthony, his lone descendant, a son from his brief marriage to actress Mamie Van Doren. (Actress Marsha Hunt, who would have been a senior to Anthony’s freshman, holds the record at 104.) Among many of his endurance-based accolades, bandleader Ray Anthony is one of the oldest surviving members of that initial class of Hollywood Walk of Fame stars. ![]() Only a couple dozen or so of those original inductees are still with us. ![]() It has been over 65 years since more than 1,500 entertainers were selected for immortality on the sidewalks of Hollywood. ![]()
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