DEAN ANTHONY

Brooklyn born Dean Anthony had been one of New York's most listened to personalities since 1964 when he came "back home" after honing his skills in Virginia and Washington DC.

Joining the WMCA "good guys", he quickly gathered a large audience where none existed…. in the middle of the night…playing the hits of The Beatles, The Stones and The Four Seasons and interacting with the audience" one on one" with his "Actors and Actresses" and "Group Therapy"

When the "good guys" run ended in 1970, he switched to "Country Music on WJRZ", then "97/WWDJ Rock & Roll" until 1971 when he joined "beautiful music WTFM"…a nice job, but Dean says it was like being in semi-retirement. In 1977 WTFM switched formats to become New York's first "soft rock" station. Dean did the mid-day, then overnight show until 1981 when a labor dispute resulted in a strike.

The 9-month strike was the proverbial blessing in disguise since that lead to a temporary job on WHLI Long Island, which lasted 22 years.

His schools were Lafayette in Brooklyn and Brooklyn College.

Sadly, Dean passed away in October, 2003, but WHLI listeners will never forget the man who was the "heart" of their favorite radio station.


 


WHLI and Hofstra University have teamed up to honor a Long Island radio legend.
And we need you to help the amount we give to a student in radio or television broadcasting grow!

Click here for more details on how you can donate to the
Dean Anthony Scholarship Fund at Hofstra University.

 


WHY WE PLAY "I THINK OF YOU" EVERYDAY

Dean Anthony started playing the song many years ago for his weather reporter, Susan Koch, who picked Perry Como's "I Think Of You" as her wedding song.  So each day, at 12:40, following her weather report, he played the song for nearly a year until she got married.  Then, he stopped.

His listeners called him, asking why he stopped playing it!  They loved it, and wanted him to continue, so he did. 

Over the years, he developed a story that he had been married to "Michelle Pfeiffer" and as part of their divorce agreement, he would play "I Think Of You" every day at 12:40 in hopes that by hearing her favorite song, he would reconsider and join her in California.  The story, of course, was bogus, but Dean had a lot of fun with it on the air. 

Deano started it years ago on WHLI, so in his memory and for his listeners, we continue to play it, as we are sure Dean would have wanted.

If you would like the song, it is available on a three-cd set called "Perry Como - Yesterday and Today, A Celebration in Song" distributed by BMG Music.

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