In Remembrance: John Raitt

     John Raitt, the Broadway baritone who recreated his role of stage role of Sid Sorokin for the film version of The Pajama Game, has passed away on Sunday, February 20, 2005 in Los Angeles, California. He was 88.

     Born on January 29, 1917 in Santa Ana, California, Raitt first discovered a love of singing at a YMCA summer camp. Although he attended University of Southern California on a track scholarship, he transferred to University of Redlands where he studied music. By 1940, he was performing in various productions with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera Company and the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

     Also in 1940, Raitt landed a contract as a contract player at MGM Studios. There, he performed uncredited bit parts in half a dozen films before leaving.

     In 1944, Raitt landed the role of Curley in the national touring company of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma. His work in the role led him to be cast as Billy Bigelow in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s next production Carousel in 1945. He would earn a Best Actor in a Musical award from the New York Drama Critics.

     His next big Broadway hit came in 1954 with The Pajama Game.

     Although well identified with the role of Sid, the superintendent of the labor strike-torn Sleep Tite Pajama Factory, from his run in the original Broadway production of The Pajama Game, Raitt was not the original choice for the screen adaptation of the musical. The studio brass at Warner Brothers wanted Howard Keel for the part, but producer George Abbott lobbied hard for Raitt to reprise the role for the film. With the casting of Doris Day in the lead role of Katie Williams, the studio felt they had enough star power to help attract audiences, so they relented and Raitt got the part. Although the film was a moderate success, the era of the movie musical was drawing to a close. Raitt never made another film, but instead spent the rest of his career on stage, touring the country in various musicals.