We have a centenary to celebrate today - and for a change, the birthday boy is still with us!
Ray Anthony - for it is he - is a rare survivor from a long-distant era. He is the last surviving member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
With his matinee-idol good looks and his consummate musical talent, he survived the end of the Big Band era (even landing his own prime time TV show Stateside) and, by incorporating some of the newer rock'n'roll styles into his repertoire, remained popular well into the 1970s on the cabaret circuit.
Along the way, he attracted the attention of a bevy of blondes - including Marilyn - and even married one of them, Mamie Van Doren!
Let us celebrate this remarkable milestone - with some of the great man's music:
He could have been Cary Grant's brother!
Happy birthday, Ray Anthony (born Raymond Antonini, 20th January 1922)!
