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John Raitt

 
American Theater Guide: John [Emmet] Raitt
 
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Raitt, John [Emmet] (1917–2005), singer and actor. A native of Santa Ana, California, the husky, virile singer was Curly in the Chicago company of Oklahoma! but is remembered primarily as the original Billy Bigelow in Carousel (1945) and the factory supervisor Sid in The Pajama Game (1954). Raitt's other New York appearances were in Magdalena (1948), Three Wishes for Jamie (1952), Carnival in Flanders (1953), and A Joyful Noise (1966).

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Artist: John Raitt
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Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Classical Artists
John Raitt
  • Born: January 10, 1917
  • Died: February 20, 2005

Biography

Renowned Broadway singer John Raitt (father to blues-rock singer/guitarist Bonnie Raitt) was born on January 19, 1917, in Santa Ana, CA, and began his singing career with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera. From there, Raitt was signed by MGM, which led to appearances in stage productions of Flight Command, Billy the Kid, and Ziegfeld Girl. But it was his role as Curly in a national company of the musical Oklahoma! that brought Raitt to the attention of Rodgers and Hammerstein, who cast Raitt in perhaps his best-known role in 1945: the star of the long-running Carousel on Broadway. Raitt's performance (which included such now-Broadway standards as "If I Loved You" and "Soliloquy") led to numerous accolades, including being voted Best Performance of the Year By an Actor in a Musical by the New York Drama Critics. Subsequently, Raitt remained a star on Broadway, acting in numerous other productions, in addition to acting in film and TV and appearing on several soundtrack albums from his Broadway shows (Carousel, The Pajama Game, Annie Get Your Gun, Show Boat, etc.). Raitt's contributions to musical theater haven't gone unnoticed, as he has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame at the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway. ~ Greg Prato ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
 
Actor: John Raitt
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Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Born: Jan 10, 1917 in Santa Ana, California
  • Died: Feb 20, 2005 in Pacific Palisades, California
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '40s-'50s
  • Major Genres: Music, Musical
  • Career Highlights: The Pajama Game, Shirley Temple's Storybook: Rumplestiltskin, Annie Get Your Gun
  • First Major Screen Credit: The Pajama Game (1957)

Biography

Trained as an opera singer, John Raitt signed an MGM stock player contract in 1940, appearing in a series of unmemorable bit roles. He rose to stardom in the mid-'40s as Curley in the touring company of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Broadway smash Oklahoma. This led to his being cast in his most famous stage role, reckless carnival barker Billy Bigelow in the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic Carousel (1945). The highlight of this production was Billy's eight-minute "Soliloquy," which Raitt would later claim was not as difficult as pretending to be dead for five minutes in the second act. In 1954 he starred with Janis Paige in the Ross-Adler Broadway musical The Pajama Game, introducing the Top 40 favorite "Hey There." He went on to co-star opposite Doris Day in the film version of Pajama Game in 1957, but didn't care for the experience and returned to his first love, the stage. For the rest of his lengthy career he would appear in straw hat and road show productions of Oklahoma, Carousel, Pajama Game, 1776, Show Boat, and Man of La Mancha, not to mention his countless one-man concerts and occasional TV appearances. John Raitt is the father of recording artist Bonnie Raitt. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
 
Wikipedia: John Raitt
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John Raitt
Born January 19, 1917(1917-01-19)
Santa Ana, California
Died February 20, 2005 (aged 88)
Pacific Palisades, California
Occupation Stage, film, television actor

John Emmett Raitt (19 January 1917 – 20 February 2005) was a star of the musical theater and stage.

Raitt was born in Santa Ana, California. He got his start in theatre as a high school student at Fullerton High School in Fullerton, California. While there, he played in several drama productions in the Plummer Auditorium. Raitt sang in the chorus of "Desert Song." A few years before he died, Raitt once again came back to the Plummer to see a rehearsal, visit students and recollect his beginnings. He is on the school's "Hall of Fame" for his accomplishments.

He is best known for his stage roles in the musicals Carousel, Oklahoma!, The Pajama Game, Carnival in Flanders, Three Wishes for Jamie, and A Joyful Noise, in which he set the standard for virile, handsome, strong-voiced leading men during the golden age of the Broadway musical. His only leading film role was in the 1957 movie version of The Pajama Game opposite Doris Day.

On television, he was seen many times on the Bell Telephone Hour. A clip of a television performance of Raitt singing the final section of the song "Soliloquy" from Carousel is included in the documentary film Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There. In 1957, also for television, he and Mary Martin re-created their starring roles in the national touring version of Annie Get Your Gun.

In addition, Raitt made several studio cast recordings of Broadway musicals, including Oklahoma! (as Curly), and Show Boat (as Gaylord Ravenal).

In 1945, John Raitt was one of the recipients of the first Theatre World Award for his debut performance in Carousel. In 1965, he starred in the twentieth-anniversary production of the show at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

In 1981, he found out that his high school sweetheart was widowed. Having recently divorced from his second wife, he phoned her. "Having played Zorba, I believe in grabbing at life," he recalled. "So I called her and this sweet voice answered. 'I'm free now,' I told her, 'and I'm coming to dinner.' They married.

Raitt appeared in a 1996 cameo role in Season 1 (episode 12, "Frozen Dick") of 3rd Rock from the Sun in which he sings a portion of the title song from Oklahoma!

He died on February 20, 2005, at his home in Pacific Palisades, California, from complications due to pneumonia, aged 88. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Live Theatre.

He was the father of singer Bonnie Raitt, and former father-in-law of Michael O'Keefe. He was the grandfather of Bay Raitt, the creator of Gollum's face for the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

External links

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American Theater Guide. The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Copyright © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ® , a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "John Raitt".  Read more