John Raitt  John Emmet Raitt (January 29, 1917 – February 20, 2005) was an American actor and singer best known for his performances in musical theatre. 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. While there, he played in several drama productions in Plummer Auditorium. Raitt sang in the chorus of "The Desert Song". (A few years before he died, Raitt 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. 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. After graduating, he was initially inclined toward a classical concert career as a lyric baritone, using as his model Thomas L. Thomas, the elegant Welsh baritone. But 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. 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 "". 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".