Anthony was program director and afternoon personality at WPGC Washington, D.C., from 1960 to 1964, where he served as the host jock for the Beatles' first U.S. concert. Prior to that, he was at WGH Norfolk, Virginia.
In November 1964, Brooklyn native Dean Anthony was hired away from WPGC to take over WMCA's overnight shift, along with a Sunday evening show. He remained there through December of '68, and returned as a part-timer from August 1969 until the fall of 1970, when the station switched from music to talk. Dean, also known as "Dino on your Radio" did his first WMCA show on November 29, 1964.
1966One of the great things about Dean was the way he used drops in his show. He would instruct his engineer to choose the drops and play them without warning, so Dean could spontaneously react to them. I didn't know that until many years after the fact, but his use of drop-in tracks influenced my own style of radio, including the one-liners dropped into Time Warp with Bill St. James.
He was also well known for Actors and Actresses, the no-prizes-just-for-fun game that ran every night on his show.
Dean was part of the legendary Good Guys lineup that included Joe O'Brien, Harry Harrison, Jack Spector, Gary Stevens and Dan Daniel.
Dean is working at WMCA on July 15, 1967 [ LISTEN ] (20:35)
Dean's just an all-around good guy! The Association, a Country Club Malt Liquor commercial, 5th Dimension, Jingle, New Rapids live read commercial, a Goldie from Elvis, Sports, and more.
Anthony played country music at WJRZ (later WWDJ) in Hackensack, New Jersey, from 1970 until 1971 when he began a 10-year stint at WTFM New York. During a labor strike at WTFM in 1981, Anthony picked up part-time work at WHLI Hempstead, N.Y. He stayed there 22 years, twice being named program director of the year by Barnstable Broadcasting.
Anthony died of cancer in 2003 at the age of 68, and was buried in his Mets cap. He was so highly-regarded that WHLI held a 10-hour tribute to him on the fifth anniversary of his death. For years, Anthony played I Think of You by Perry Como every day at 12:40 p.m., and the station continued that practice in his memory.
