John raitt biography

Born John Emmet Raitt, January 20, 1917, in Santa Ana, CA; died of complications from pneumonia, February 20, 2005, in Pacific Palisades, CA. Actor. Broadway star John Raitt was one of the most prolific stage performers of his generation. He was a leading star in the golden era of musical theater, and was perhaps best known for his role as Billy Bigelow in Carousel, which he originated in 1945. The show featured a seven-minute showstopper— written specifically for Raitt—and his booming baritone—which "remains one of the most evocative marriages of music and speech in the Broadway repertoire," asserted Raitt's obituary in the Times of London. Raitt also gained later fame as the father of blues-rock singer Bonnie Raitt.

Raitt was born on January 29, 1917, in Santa Ana, California. His father ran a Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) camp in Orange County, and as a high-schooler in Fullerton, California, Raitt proved to be a talented track and field athlete, which won him a scholarship to the University of Southern California. He later transferred to the University of Redlands, where he studied physical education and dabbled in theater.

During his college years Raitt became increasingly inv

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