(born 1927), U.S. trumpet player and bandleader. Born Carl Hilding Severinsen on July 7, 1927, in Arlington, Ore., he was called Doc from childhood because his father was a dentist. Severinsen studied the trumpet from an early age and joined Tommy Dorsey's band in 1949. After a stint with Benny Goodman, he began appearing on television, finally joining the Tonight Show orchestra in 1962. He became its leader in 1967 and left when Johnny Carson retired as host of the show.