John Raitt

Renowned Broadway singer John Raitt (father to blues-rock singer/guitarist Bonnie Raitt) was born on January 19, 1917, in Santa Ana, CA, and began his singing career with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera. From there, Raitt was signed by MGM, which led to appearances in stage productions of Flight Command, Billy the Kid, and Ziegfeld Girl. But it was his role as Curly in a national company of the musical Oklahoma! that brought Raitt to the attention of Rodgers and Hammerstein, who cast Raitt in perhaps his best-known role in 1945: the star of the long-running Carousel on Broa...