Rita Moreno, Actress, - Biography
Actress
Birth name Rosita Dolores Alverío
Born
December 11, 1931, Humacao, Puerto Rico
Height. 5 foot
2 and a half ( 1.59 m )
Rita Moreno is an Academy Award-winning actress & the first & only Puerto Rican actress in history (as well as one of only nine people) to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, & a Tony Award.
Moreno (born Rosita Dolores Alverío) moved with her mother to New York City at the age of five. When she was eleven years old, she lent her voice to Spanish-language versions of American films. She had her first Broadway role (Angelina in Skydrift) by the time she was thirteen, which caught the attention of Hollywood talent scouts. For the next ten years, Moreno played roles in movies which she considered degrading.
Finally, in 1961, Moreno landed the role of "Anita" in Robert Wise's film adaptation of Leonard Bernstein's & Stephen Sondheim's groundbreaking Broadway musical, West Side Story. Moreno gained fame & an Academy Award as the Best Supporting Actress for that role.
Moreno went on to be the second actor, & the first Hispanic, to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar (as mentioned), & a Tony. In 1985 she won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theatre.
Moreno dated Marlon Brando, her co-star in The Night of the Following Day (1968) & is rumored to have attempted suicide after their relationship ended.
Notably, Moreno appeared in Singin' in the Rain (1952), The King & I (1956), & Carnal Knowledge in (1971). In the 1970s & 1980s, she appeared on the PBS children's series The Electric Company notably as Millie the Helper (in fact it was Rita who screamed the show's opening line, "HEY, YOU GUYS!"); the often naughty little girl, Pandora; & as "Otto", the very short-tempered Director. In a 2000 interview, Rita mentioned that her favorite characters were Otto & Pandora. Moreno also appeared in the popular family variety series The Muppet Show. She has made guest appearances on television series such as The Rockford Files, The Love Boat, The Cosby Show, The Golden Girls, & Miami Vice. She was also a regular on the short-lived sitcom version of Nine to Five (based on the hit film) during the early 1980s.
Moreno's Broadway credits include The Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Gantry, The Ritz, & the female version of The Odd Couple.
During the mid 1990s, Moreno provided the voice of Carmen Sandiego on the hit animated FOX show Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? In the late 1990s, she gained exposure to a new generation of viewers, as she played Sister Peter Marie Reimondo, a nun trained as a psychologist in the popular HBO series, Oz. Moreno has participated in more than fifty productions, combining her television, movie & theatrical works. 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.
Perhaps Moreno's main contribution to the Hispanic community has been her ability to transcend what some have viewed as the widespread discriminatory practices of Hollywood.
She has also acknowledged a partial Marrano (or crypto-Jewish) ancestry.
Among Moreno's many awards & recognitions are the following:
Academy Award Best Supporting Actress,
"West Side Story" (1961).
"The Joseph Jefferson Award"
Best Chicago Theatre Actress (1968).
Grammy Award The Electric Company Album
(1972).
Tony Award Best Featured Actress, "The Ritz" (1975).
2
Emmy Awards "The Muppet Show" (1977), & "The Rockford Files"
(1978).
"The Golden Apple" Cue Magazine Award.
"The Sarah
Siddons Awards" for her portrayal of Olive Madison in the female version
of the Odd Couple.
"Special Recognition Award" from the International
Latin Music Hall of Fame (2001).
" Presidential Medal of Freedom "
in June 2004.
Rita Moreno has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7083
Hollywood Blvd.
On June 18, 1965 Moreno married Lenny Gordon, who remains
her husband & manager. They have one daughter, Fernanda (Gordon) Fisher.
Filmography
Moreno as Pandora on The Electric Company.So Young So Bad (1950)
The Toast
of New Orleans (1950)
Pagan Love Song (1950)
The Ring (1952)
Singin'
in the Rain (1952)
The Fabulous Señorita (1952)
Cattle Town (1952)
Fort Vengeance (1953)
Ma & Pa Kettle on Vacation (1953)
Latin
Lovers (1953)
El Alaméin (1953)
Jivaro (1954)
The Yellow Tomahawk
(1954)
Garden of Evil (1954)
Untamed (1955)
Seven Cities of Gold (1955)
The Lieutenant Wore Skirts (1956)
The King & I (1956)
The Vagabond
King (1956)
The Deerslayer (1957)
This Rebel Breed (1960)
West Side
Story (1961)
Summer & Smoke (1961)
Cry of Battle (1963)
The Night
of the Following Day (1968)
Popi (1969)
Marlowe (1969)
Carnal Knowledge
(1971)
The Ritz (1976)
Voodoo Passion (1977)
The Boss' Son (1978)
Happy Birthday, Gemini (1980)
The Four Seasons (1981)
Age Isn't Everything
(1991)
Italian Movie (1993)
I Like It Like That (1994)
Carmen Miranda:
Bananas Is My Business (1995) (documentary)
Angus (1995)
Slums of Beverly
Hills (1998)
Carlo's Wake (1999)
The Puerto Ricans: Our American Story
(1999) (documentary)
Blue Moon (2000)
Piñero (2001)
Casa de
los Babys (2003)
Beyond Borders: John Sayles in Mexico (2003) (documentary)
King of the Corner (2004)
Play It By Ear (2006)
Site
written in May 2007
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