John Raitt
| John Raitt | |
|---|---|
| File:JohnRaitt.gif | |
| Born | John Emmett Raitt January 29, 1917 Santa Ana, California |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Pacific Palisades, California |
| Occupation | Stage, film, television actor |
| Children | Bonnie Raitt |
John Emmett Raitt (January 29, 1917[1] – February 20, 2005) was an American actor and singer best known for his performances in musical theater.
Early years
Raitt was born in Santa Ana, California. He got his start in theatre as a high school student at Fullerton Union High School in Fullerton, California.[2] While there, he played in several drama productions in Plummer Auditorium. Raitt sang in the chorus of The Desert Song.[3] (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 "Wall of Fame" for his accomplishments.[4] 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.[5] He was named "Athlete of the Meet" after that accomplishment.[6] He graduated from the University of Redlands in 1939.[7]
Career
He is best known for his stage roles in the musicals Carousel, Oklahoma!,[8] 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.[9]
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. On September 29, 1953, he joined Jackie Gleason and Phil Foster in an appearance on the CBS panel discussion This Is Show Business. On January 26, 1961, he appeared in the last season of NBC's The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford.
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.
Later years
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.[10] He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Live Theatre.
He is the father of singer Bonnie Raitt, and former father-in-law of Michael O'Keefe. His grandson is Bay Raitt, the creator of Gollum's face for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
References
- ↑ Some sources claim January 19, but Raitt's official website provides January 29, 1917
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ list of Wall of Fame members, accessed 2011-09-29
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.prepcaltrack.com/ATHLETICS/TRACK/stateaom.pdf
- ↑ John Raitt-Biogrraphy (IMDB)
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- John Raitt official website
- John Raitt at the Internet Movie Database
- John Raitt at the Internet Broadway DatabaseLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
