STAGE STAR JOHN RAITT BACK HOME

Although he has starred on the Broadway musical stage and in theaters throughout the United States for more than 40 years, John Raitt says his roots are still in Orange County.

“I guess I’m a real native son. I keep coming back; I keep wanting to do whatever I can for community groups here,” said Raitt, who will sing Saturday night for a North Orange County Community College District community honors concert at the Forum Theater in Yorba Linda.

The singer-actor was born in Santa Ana 68 years ago, and one of the city’s main streets is named after his grandfather, T.L. Raitt, a pioneer dairyman.

John’s father, Arch Raitt, was executive secretary of the North Orange County YMCA, and John himself was a star athlete--and budding singer--while at Fullerton High School.

His wife, Rosemary, represents two of Orange County’s most illustrious pioneer families--she is the granddaughter of Samuel Kraemer and Angelina Yorba.

For years, Raitt has sung at Orange County benefits, including last week’s YMCA salute to Arnold Beckman. His “Broadway Tonight” concert Saturday with Anna Maria Alberghetti is part of a tribute to north county community leaders.

It is 40 years since Raitt attained Broadway stardom as Billy Bigelow, the truculent carnival barker hero, in the original New York production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Carousel.”

He went on to play the leads in other Broadway musicals, such as “Magdalena” and “The Pajama Game.” He starred in various national touring productions, including those for “Zorba” and “Shenandoah.” He headlined several network television variety shows, and teamed with Doris Day in the film version of “The Pajama Game” (his only movie starring role).

Now residing in Pacific Palisades, Raitt is doing what he’s been doing for years--giving concerts across the country, as well as starring in revivals of musicals that still call for the Raitt specialty, the strong hero type.

At a rehearsal Tuesday at the Forum, the tall, strapping Raitt demonstrated that he can still cut a commanding figure on stage--and that he can still sing “If I Loved You,” “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’ ” and “Hey There” with robust skill and soaring clarity.

It’s only appropriate that he’s back in Orange County this week. That’s where his singing career got its start.

When he was 17 and already a member of a Fullerton glee club, he made his stage debut in a community production of “The Desert Song.” “Oh, it wasn’t the lead by any means, just a small singing part. They picked me, I guess, because they heard I had a loud voice and could be heard even if my back was to the audience,” Raitt recalled, laughing.

But track and field--and a career as an athletics teacher--were young Raitt’s big hopes at the time. His record-breaking prowess in high school in the shot put, javelin throw and discus throw won him a scholarship to USC.

However, music and acting slowly supplanted athletics. He appeared in musicals at the University of Redlands, sang in the chorus with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera and joined several Southern California opera troupes. He was even tested for a part in a Marx Brothers movie (he lost the part but was given walk-on bits in three other MGM films).

The break came in 1944 when Rodgers & Hammerstein cast the 27-year-old baritone as the cowboy hero, Curly, in the national touring company of “Oklahoma!” The following year brought him “Carousel,” Broadway and full stardom.

“You don’t get roles like a Curly or a Billy anymore. It’s another case of ‘they don’t write ‘em like they used to.’ The era of the strong leads in musicals seems to have all but vanished,” Raitt said. “I was lucky that I got in on at least part of that era.”

Although it’s been a decade since Raitt has been on Broadway (in “A Musical Jubilee”), he remains in demand for revivals of the standby musicals--such as “South Pacific,” “Kiss Me Kate,” “Paint Your Wagon” and “Kismet”--and for his one-man “musical autobiographic” concerts.

(Daughter Bonnie Raitt, who is one of the country’s top blues-rock singers, has made one formal concert appearance with her father--three years ago in Wallingford, Conn).

“You can’t keep me off the stage. I never get tired of it. I like the constant challenge of it,” said Raitt, adding that he’s especially fond of playing the character role of Don Quixote in “Man of La Mancha.” Last year, he tackled for the first time a role even more of a departure for him--the Jewish folk villager, Tevye, in “Fiddler on the Roof.”

Explained Raitt with a grin: “Let’s just say it was a draw between me and Tevye. But they (Louisiana Tech University) had asked me to be in it, and I thought, ‘Well, here’s my chance.’ I’m still glad I tried it.”

Yet he cannot escape “Carousel.”

About two years ago, he toured in yet another revival of the 1945 classic in several East Coast cities. And at Tuesday’s Forum rehearsal, Raitt showed how “Soliloquy”--a music dramatization of the joys and fears of Billy Bigelow as a father-to-be--should be performed.

Alternately roaring and whispering, Raitt took over the stage, singing “Soliloquy” with all the verve and confidence of a man who has owned that song--and character--for 40 years.