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John Emmet Raitt (; January 29, 1917Some sources claim January 19, but Raitt's official website provides January 29, 1917 – February 20, 2005) was an American actor and singer best known for his performances in musical theatre. His most notable roles were Billy Bigelow in the original Broadway theatre cast of Carousel and Curly in the original Chicago production of Oklahoma!
In 1935, Raitt won the "football throw" at the California State High School Track and Field Championship; his mark of 220 feet remains the state record in that short-lived event. He was named "Athlete of the Meet" after that accomplishment. He graduated from the University of Redlands in 1939.John Raitt biography (IMDB)
After graduating, he was initially inclined toward a classical concert career as a lyric baritone, using as his model the elegant Welsh baritone Thomas L. Thomas. However, after a consultation with Romano Romani, the composer, conductor, and coach who had shaped the career of soprano Rosa Ponselle, Raitt accepted that the timbre (or tone quality) of his voice was that of a tenor rather than a lyric baritone, but without the high notes of a concert tenor. As a result, he decided upon a career in popular music. During World War II, as a Quaker he did not serve in the military.
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 . On September 29, 1953, he joined Jackie Gleason and Phil Foster in an appearance on the CBS panel discussion This Is Show Business. In 1957, he and Mary Martin re-created their starring roles in Annie Get Your Gun on NBC. On January 26, 1961, he appeared in the last season of NBC's The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford.
Raitt appeared in the 1960 episode, "The Man on the Road", on the syndicated anthology series, Death Valley Days, hosted by Stanley Andrews. He was cast as Jim Dandy, an itinerant peddler who befriends a boy, Pete Rawson (Kevin Jones), whose father, played by House Peters, Jr., has been jailed falsely for horse theft. The episode also stars Mort Mills as Holt, a leader in the efforts to lynch the suspect. Jim Dandy devises a scheme to find the real horse thief. Raitt also manages to sing one song in this episode.
In addition, Raitt made several studio recording of Broadway musicals, including Oklahoma! (as Curly), The Pajama Game (as Sid), 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. He also served as narrator on the documentary about Volunteers of America, Journey to Hope (1976) .
Raitt appeared at the legendary Elitch Theatre three times: 1976’s Shenandoah, 1977’s I Do! I Do!, and 1979’s Man of La Mancha.
In January 1992, Raitt was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Live Theatre, located at 6126 Hollywood Blvd.
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!
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