Rita Moreno

Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> born December 11, 1931) is a Puerto Rican actress, dancer, and singer.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> With a career spanning eight decades she is known for her roles on stage and screen, and is one of the last remaining stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Among her numerous accolades, she is one of the few actors to have been awarded an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony (EGOT)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Triple Crown of Acting.Template:Efn She has been honored with Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004, the National Medal of Arts in 2009, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2013, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2015, and a Peabody Award in 2019.

Moreno's early work included supporting roles in the classic musical films Singin' in the Rain (1952) and The King and I (1956), before her breakout role as Anita in West Side Story (1961), which earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the first Hispanic woman to win an Academy Award.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Moreno returned in the supporting role of Valentina in the 2021 Spielberg-directed remake of the same name. Her other films include Popi (1969), Carnal Knowledge (1971), The Four Seasons (1981), I Like It Like That (1994), Slums of Beverly Hills (1998), and Fast X (2023).

In theater, she starred as Googie Gomez in the 1975 Terrence McNally musical The Ritz earning her the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She reprised her role in the 1976 film directed by Richard Lester which earned her a BAFTA Award for Best Actress nomination. She also acted in Lorraine Hansberry's The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window in 1964 and in Neil Simon's The Odd Couple in 1985.

She was a cast member in The Electric Company (1971–1977), for which she earned an Emmy in 1972, and played Sister Peter Marie Reimondo on the HBO series Oz (1997–2003). She received two consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for her roles on The Muppet Show in 1977 and The Rockford Files in 1978. She acted in Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? (1994–1999), The CW series Jane the Virgin (2015–2019), and the Netflix revival of One Day at a Time (2017–2020). Her life was profiled in Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It (2021).

Early years

Rita Moreno was born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano, on December 11, 1931, in a Humacao, Puerto Rico, hospital to Rosa María (née Marcano) (1912–1999), a seamstress, and Francisco José "Paco" Alverío, a farmer who was born in 1908. She was nicknamed "Rosita" and raised in nearby Juncos.<ref name="autobio">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="filmr">filmreference.com blacklisted </ref> Her maternal grandparents were Justino Marcano (b. Puerto Rico) and Trinidad from Spain.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Moreno's mother moved to New York City in 1936, taking her daughter, but not her son, Moreno's younger brother, Francisco, whom Moreno would not see again until 2021.<ref name="The View">Template:Cite web</ref> Moreno adopted the surname of her first stepfather, Edward Moreno, Rosa Maria's second husband. She spent her teenage years living in the NYC suburb of Valley Stream on Long Island.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Career

1945–1959: Theater debut and early films

Rita Moreno in 1954

Moreno began her first dancing lessons soon after arriving in New York with a Spanish dancer known as "Paco Cansino", who was a paternal uncle of film star Rita Hayworth.<ref>Template:YouTube.</ref> When she was 11 years old, she lent her voice to Spanish-language versions of American films. She had her first Broadway role, as "Angelina" in the 1945 production of Skydrift, by the age of 13, which caught the attention of Hollywood talent scouts. Moreno said she was raped by her agent while she was a teen actor.<ref>Article from 2022 in The Mercury News</ref><ref>Interview in 60 minutes from 2021 on CBS</ref>

Moreno's film career began in the later years of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Moreno and her mother moved to a Culver City "cottage" within walking distance of MGM.<ref>Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It—American Masters Season 35, Episode 19 (documentary)</ref> She acted steadily in films throughout the 1950s, usually in small roles, including in The Toast of New Orleans (1950)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1952, she appeared in Stanley Donen's musical comedy film Singin' in the Rain alongside Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor. In the film she played silent film star Zelda Zanders. She described having gotten the role by Gene Kelly "wanting her in the movie" and that she "seemed to fit the role for him". Moreno praised Kelly for casting her in a non-stereotypical Hispanic role playing Zelda saying, "he never said 'Oh she's too Latina', he just thought I'd be fine for it". She called the experience working in the film as an "amazing experience" and a "privilege".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In March 1954, Moreno was featured on the cover of Life magazine with the caption "Rita Moreno: An Actress's Catalog of Sex and Innocence".<ref name="berkeleyside.com">Template:Cite web</ref> Moreno disliked most of her film work during this period, as she felt the roles she was given were very stereotypical. One exception was her supporting role in the film version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I directed by Walter Lang. In the film she played Tuptim, a slave brought from Burma to be one of the King's junior wives.<ref name="IMDB">Template:IMDb name</ref> She starred alongside Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. The film was a critical and financial success. It received nine Academy Award nominations including five wins including Best Actor, Best Art Direction – Color, Best Costume Design – Color, Best Original Score, and Best Sound Recording. In 1959, Moreno appeared as Lola Montez in Season 3, Episode 23, of the TV western Tales of Wells Fargo, episode title "Lola Montez".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1960–1969: Breakout with West Side Story

Moreno as Anita in West Side Story

In 1961, Moreno landed the role of Anita in Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins' film adaptation of Leonard Bernstein's and Stephen Sondheim's groundbreaking Broadway musical West Side Story, which had been played by Chita Rivera on Broadway. Moreno earned acclaim for her performance. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times described Moreno's performance full of "spitfire".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Variety wrote, "Moreno...presents a fiery characterization and also scores hugely".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The film went on to win ten Academy Awards including for Best Picture. Moreno won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for that role.<ref name="RM">Template:Cite web</ref>

After winning the Oscar, Moreno thought she would be able to continue to perform less stereotypical film roles, but was disappointed:

Moreno had a major role in Summer and Smoke (1961), released soon after West Side Story. She did appear in one film during her self-imposed exile from Hollywood – Cry of Battle (1963) – although it had been filmed directly before and after she won the Academy Award. She made her return to film in The Night of the Following Day (1968) with Marlon Brando, and followed that with Popi (1969), and Marlowe (1969) with James Garner. Moreno's Broadway credits include Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1969), the musical Gantry (1970), and The Ritz, for which she won the 1975 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. She appeared in the female version of The Odd Couple<ref name="IMDB" /> that ran in Chicago, for which she won the Sarah Siddons Award in 1985.<ref name="RM"/> Her costar Sally Struthers later stated in an interview on Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast that it was an unpleasant experience until Rita Moreno, who Struthers alleges was mean-spirited towards her, left the play and was replaced by Brenda Vaccaro.<ref>soundcloud.com</ref>

1970–1999: Established actress

Moreno in The Ritz in 1975

From 1971 to 1977, Moreno was a main cast member on the PBS children's series The Electric Company. She screamed the show's opening line, "Hey, you guys!" Her roles on the show included Millie the Helper, the naughty little girl Pandora, and Otto, a very short-tempered director. Moreno also starred in Mike Nichols' Carnal Knowledge (1971) alongside Jack Nicholson, Candice Bergen, Ann-Margret, and Art Garfunkel. In the film she plays a prostitute named Louise, whom Jack Nicholson plays cards with. The film was a critical success. In 1976 she starred as Googie Gomez in Richard Lester's film adaptation of the comedy farce The Ritz alongside Jack Weston, Jerry Stiller, and F. Murray Abraham. Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film made the transition from the stage "surprisingly well, given the odds," with "two of the most flamboyantly entertaining and skillful comedy performances of the year" by Jack Weston and Rita Moreno.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Moreno's appearance on The Muppet Show earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program in 1977.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> As a result, she became the third person (after Richard Rodgers and Helen Hayes) to have won an Oscar (1962), a Grammy (1972), a Tony (1975), and an Emmy (1977), frequently referred to as an "EGOT". She won another Emmy award the following year, 1978, this time a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, for her portrayal of former call girl Rita Kapcovic on a three-episode arc on The Rockford Files.

In the 1980s, Moreno starred as Lucille in Richard Benner's comedy-drama film Happy Birthday, Gemini alongside Madeline Kahn. She was in Alan Alda's The Four Seasons (1981) which was a financial and critical hit and starred Alda, Carol Burnett, Len Cariou, Sandy Dennis, and Jack Weston. She was a regular on the three-season network run of 9 to 5, a sitcom based on the film hit, during the early 1980s.<ref name="IMDb">Template:IMDb name</ref> Rita Moreno has made numerous guest appearances on television series in the 1980s, including The Love Boat, The Cosby Show, The Golden Girls, and Miami Vice.

In 1993, Moreno was invited to perform at President Bill Clinton's inauguration and later that month was asked to perform at the White House.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During the mid-1990s, Moreno provided the voice of Carmen Sandiego on Fox's animated series Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the franchise's 2019 animated series, Moreno voices the character Cookie Booker. In the late 1990s, Moreno played Sister Pete, a nun trained as a psychologist in the popular HBO series Oz, for which she won several ALMA Awards. She made a guest appearance on The Nanny as Coach Stone, Maggie's tyrannical gym teacher, whom Fran Fine also remembered from her school as Ms. Wickavich.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2000s–2010s

Moreno in 2014

She released an eponymous album of nightclub songs in 2000 on the Varèse Sarabande label, with liner notes by Michael Feinstein.<ref>Rita Moreno, Varèse Sarabande 302 066 189 2 (2000)</ref> In 2006, she portrayed Amanda Wingfield in Berkeley Repertory Theatre's revival of The Glass Menagerie. She had a recurring role on Law & Order: Criminal Intent as the dying mother of Detective Robert Goren. She played the family matriarch on the 2007 TV series Cane, which starred Jimmy Smits and Hector Elizondo. She played the mother of Fran Drescher's character in the 2011–13 TV sitcom Happily Divorced.Template:Cn

Since then, she has continued to work in film, including a small voice role in the 2014 film Rio 2, perhaps her most commercially successful film. In September 2011, Moreno began performing a solo autobiographical show at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup written by the theatre's artistic director Tony Taccone after hours of interviews with Moreno.<ref name="berkeleyside.com"/> In 2014, Moreno appeared in the NBC television film Old Soul, alongside Natasha Lyonne, Fred Willard and Ellen Burstyn.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The film was intended as a pilot for a television series, but it was not picked up.

Moreno plays the matriarch of a Cuban-American family in the Netflix sitcom One Day at a Time, a remake produced by Norman Lear of Lear's 1975–84 sitcom. The first season premiered in January 2017. Critics overall praised the show, and especially the performances of Moreno and the series' star, Justina Machado.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Also that year, Moreno and others contributed to Lin-Manuel Miranda's single "Almost Like Praying" where proceeds from the song went to the Hispanic Federation's UNIDOS Disaster Relief program to benefit those affected by Hurricane Maria that devastated the island of Puerto Rico.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

2020s

In 2020–21, Moreno starred in and executive-produced the Steven Spielberg–directed adaptation of West Side Story.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Moreno plays a newly created character, Valentina; she famously won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Anita in the 1961 original movie. The film was released on December 10, 2021. Justin Chang of NPR wrote, "Sixty years later, Moreno is an executive producer on Spielberg's West Side Story. She also gives a poignant performance in the new role of Valentina, the widow of Doc, the drugstore owner. By her presence, Moreno teaches us how to approach this movie, as both an affectionate tribute and a gentle corrective."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Moreno at the Walk of Fame ceremony in 2022

On August 29, 2021, Moreno took part in the "Wicked in Concert" special on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS Video App, performing "The Wizard and I".<ref>Template:Cite web </ref><ref>Template:Cite web </ref>

Moreno's life was profiled in the feature documentary entitled Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It which was produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and received positive reviews. The Guardian declared, "Overall, she emerges just as vampish, feisty and fun as you’d expect, and as a gracious giver of speeches at ceremonies where she collects endless lifetime achievement awards".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2023, Moreno starred in the sports comedy 80 for Brady about four elderly women who travel to see Tom Brady and the New England Patriots play at the Super Bowl LI. Moreno co-starred alongside Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Sally Field, and played Abuelita Toretto, the grandmother of Dom (Vin Diesel), Jakob (John Cena), and Mia (Jordana Brewster) in Fast X, the tenth installment of the Fast & Furious franchise. Moreno played Angelica in Family Switch.

Personal life

From 1954 to 1962, Moreno was in an on-and-off relationship with Marlon Brando.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She revealed in her memoir that she became pregnant by Brando and he arranged for an abortion. The abortion was botched, she went home and bled as the fetus died inside her and she had to be rushed to the hospital to have it surgically removed. Soon after, Brando fell in love with his co-star on Mutiny on the Bounty, yet returned to her; Moreno attempted suicide by overdosing on Brando's sleeping pills.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After the incident, Brando advised Moreno to go into therapy. They didn't reconnect until 1968 to film The Night of the Following Day. The two were on good terms after that and remained friends until Brando's death.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1965, Moreno married cardiologist and internist Leonard Gordon,<ref name="legacy-latimes">Template:Cite web</ref> who became her manager after he retired from medicine.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="datebook.sfchronicle.com">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1995, they relocated to Berkeley, California.<ref name="SFGATE-2309622">Template:Cite web</ref> They remained together until his death in 2010.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Moreno and Gordon have one daughter, Fernanda Gordon Fisher, and two grandsons.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Moreno said she once considered leaving her husband, but did not to avoid breaking up the family.<ref name="beast">Template:Cite web</ref>

Acting credits and accolades

Moreno with President Bush in 2004, prior to receiving the Medal of Freedom

Moreno has achieved what is called the Triple Crown of Acting, with individual competitive Academy, Emmy and Tony awards for acting; as well as the EGOT. In 1962, she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for West Side Story. When Ariana DeBose won Best Supporting Actress for the same role in the 2021 adaptation of the film, Moreno and DeBose became the third pair of actors to win separate acting Oscars for portraying the same character. In 1972, she received a Grammy Award for Best Children's Album for The Electric Company. In 1975, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for The Ritz. She won her Primetime Emmy Awards in 1977 and 1978 for her performances in The Muppet Show and The Rockford Files, respectively.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

She has also received a Golden Globe Award, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, she was Inducted into the California Hall of Fame, 2007<ref>Moreno inducted into California Hall of Fame Template:Webarchive, California Museum. Retrieved 2007</ref> In 2013, she received the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award which was presented to her by Morgan Freeman.<ref>Rita Moreno Honored With SAG Life Achievement Award during the 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards Template:Webarchive. Retrieved January 19, 2014</ref>

She has won numerous other honors, including various lifetime achievement awards and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor. In 2009, President Barack Obama presented her with the National Medal of Arts.<ref>White House Announces 2009 National Medal of Arts Recipients Template:Webarchive</ref> In 2015, she was awarded a Kennedy Center Honors Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award for her contribution to American culture, through performing arts.<ref>Viagas, Robert. "Carole King, Cicely Tyson, Rita Moreno and More Named 2015 Kennedy Center Honorees" Template:Webarchive Playbill, July 15, 2015</ref> She was awarded the Peabody Career Achievement Award in 2019. She also received the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2013, and was awarded the Peabody Award in 2019.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• List of Puerto Ricans
• List of Puerto Ricans in the Academy Awards
• List of people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award
• List of Puerto Rican Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients
• History of women in Puerto Rico

External links

• Template:IMDb name
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• Rita Moreno interview, Downstage Center XM Radio interview by the American Theatre Wing, January 2007; March 2007
• Rita Moreno interview on PBS NewsHour, October 1, 2013 (0:48:28), at the American Archive of Public Broadcasting
• TonyAwards.com Interview with Rita Moreno
• Rita Moreno; video produced by Makers: Women Who Make America
• Image of the United Civil Rights Committee with actress Rita Moreno at a march against de facto school segregation in Los Angeles, California, 1963. Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.