Trivia

Sang duets with his daughter Bonnie Raitt ("Blowing Away" and "Hey, There").

To celebrate the twentieth anniversary revival at Lincoln Center of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Carousel" (in which he recreated his original stage role of Billy Bigelow), Raitt made an appearance on the "Today" show in 1965 in which he sang the entire score of the show (even the songs written for female singers only!).

In 1935, competing for Fullerton High School in the California State Track and Field High-School Championships at Ratcliffe Stadium in Fresno, John Raitt won the shot-put with a throw of 55 feet 5 and 1/4 inches, and set a new state record in winning the football throw with a throw of 220 feet.

Grandfather of special effects modeler-animator Bay Raitt, co-creator of the character Gollum in the Lord of the Rings movies.

His professional debut was in 1940 in the chorus of "HMS Pinafore" with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera.

Father of Steven Raitt, David Raitt and singer Bonnie Raitt.

Was originally told he was too tall to play Curly in "Oklahoma!". Hammerstein was so impressed with his voice that he decided Curly could be a tall man.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Live Theatre at 6126 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on January 29, 1992.

Former father-in-law of Michael O'Keefe.

John Raitt was an American actor and singer best known for his performances in musical theatre.

He had a nod to his fame as Curly in Broadway's "Oklahoma" in S1, E12 of "3rd Rock From the Sun" whereby he sang a solo from the "Oklahoma" theme song when Dick and the diners were belting it out to brighten Mary's spirits.

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 440-442. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale (2007).

Born at 5:00pm-PST

In January 1992, Raitt was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Live Theatre, located at 6126 Hollywood Blvd.

In 1945, John Raitt was one of the recipients of the first Theatre World Award for his debut performance in Carousel.

He got his start in theatre as a high school student at Fullerton Union High School in Fullerton, California. While there, he played in several drama productions in Plummer Auditorium. Raitt sang in the chorus of The Desert Song.