Rita Moreno

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Biography

Rita Moreno (born December 11, 1931) is a Puerto Rican people|Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress. She is the only Hispanic and one of the few performers who have won an List of persons who have won Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards|Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony , and was the second Puerto Rican to win an Academy Award .

Early years

Moreno was born Rosa Dolores Alverío in Humacao , Puerto Rico , to Rosa María, a seamstress, and Paco Alverío, a farmer. http://www.filmreference.com/film/49/Rita-Moreno.html She moved with her mother to New York City at the age of five, and took the surname of her stepfather, Edward Moreno.

She began her first dancing lessons soon after arriving in New York from a friend of her mother, a Spanish people|Spanish dancer called Paco Cansino, who was the uncle of Rita Hayworth .
When she was 11 years old, she lent her voice to Spanish language versions of United States|American films.

She had her first Broadway theatre|Broadway role & mdash; as "Angelina" in Skydrift & mdash; by the time she was 13, which caught the attention of Hollywood talent scouts. She appeared in small roles in The Toast of New Orleans and '' Singin' in the Rain (film)|Singin' in the Rain , in which she played Zelda Zanners.

In March 1954, Moreno was featured on the cover of Life Magazine with a caption “Rita Moreno: An Actresses' Catalog of Sex and Innocence.”

In 1956, she had a supporting role in the film version of The King and I (1956 film)|The King and I as Tuptim, but disliked most of her other work during this period.

West Side Story and its Aftermath

In 1961, Moreno landed the role of Anita in Robert Wise 's and Jerome Robbins ' film adaptation of Leonard Bernstein 's and Stephen Sondheim 's groundbreaking Broadway musical , West Side Story (film)|West Side Story , which was played by Chita Rivera on Broadway. Moreno won the Academy Awards|Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for that role.

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

"Ha, ha. I showed them. I didn't make another movie for seven years after winning the Oscar.... Before West Side Story I was always offered the stereotypical Latina roles. The Conchitas and Lolitas in westerns. I was always barefoot. It was humiliating, embarrassing stuff. But I did it because there was nothing else. After West Side Story , it was pretty much the same thing. A lot of gang stories."

Moreno went on to be the first actress (and the first Hispanic) to win an Emmy (1977), a Grammy (1972), an Academy Awards|Oscar (1962) and a Tony Award|Tony (1975). In 1985, she won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago .

Other roles

Besides appearing in '' Singin' in the Rain (film)|Singin' in the Rain , The King and I (1956 film)|The King and I , Summer and Smoke (film)|Summer and Smoke (1961), West Side Story (film)|West Side Story , The Night of the Following Day (1968) and Carnal Knowledge in (1971),

Moreno appeared on the PBS children's series The Electric Company in the 1970s, most notably as Millie the Helper. In fact, it was Moreno who screamed the show's opening line, "HEY, YOU GUYS!" She also had roles as the naughty little girl Pandora, and as Otto The Director|"Otto" , the very short-tempered director. Moreno appeared in the family variety series The Muppet Show , and she made other guest appearances on television series such as The Rockford Files , The Love Boat , The Cosby Show , George Lopez , The Golden Girls , and Miami Vice . She was also a regular on the short-lived sitcom version of 9 to 5 (TV series)|Nine to Five (based on Nine to Five|the film hit ) during the early 1980s.

Broadway and television

Moreno's Broadway theatre|Broadway credits include The Last of the Red Hot Lovers , Gantry (musical)|Gantry , The Ritz (play)|The Ritz , for which she won the 1975 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress, and the female version of The Odd Couple . In 1993 she was invited to perform at President Bill Clinton 's inauguration and later that month was asked to perform at the White House. During the mid 1990s, Moreno provided the voice of Carmen Sandiego (character)|Carmen Sandiego on the animated Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox show Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? In 1995, she co-starred with Charlton Heston , Mickey Rooney , Deborah Winters and Peter Graves in the Warren Chaney docudrama , America: A Call to Greatness . Internet Movie Database

In the late 1990s, she gained exposure to a new generation of viewers when she played Sister Pete , a nun trained as a psychologist in the popular Home Box Office|HBO series, Oz (TV series)|Oz . She made a guest appearance on The Nanny as Coach Stone, Margaret Sheffield|Maggie 's ( Nicholle Tom ) tyrannical gym teacher, whom Fran Fine ( Fran Drescher ) also remembered from her school as Ms. Wickavich.

Performing in the 21st century

Moreno continues to be active on stage and screen. In 2006, she portrayed Amanda Wingfield in Berkeley Repertory Theatre 's revival of The Glass Menagerie . She was seen on Law and Order: Criminal Intent as the dying mother of Detective Goren. She was a regular on the short-lived TV series Cane (TV series)|Cane , which starred Jimmy Smits and Hector Elizondo . In 2011 she accepted the role of the mother of Fran Drescher 's character in the TV sitcom Happily Divorced .

In September 2011, Moreno began performing a solo autobiographical show at the Berkeley Rep (theater) in Berkeley, California, Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup written by Berkeley Rep artistic director Tony Taccone after hours of interviews with Moreno.

Family and Personal Life

Moreno dated Marlon Brando for 8 years, and attempted suicide in his home in 1962.

On June 18, 1965, Moreno married Leonard Gordon, a cardiologist who was also her manager. He died on June 30, 2010. They have one daughter, Fernanda Luisa Gordon-Fisher, and two grandsons, Justin and Cameron Fisher.

Awards

Among Moreno's awards and recognitions are the following:

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress - West Side Story (film)|"West Side Story" (1961)

Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture|Golden Globe Award for 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 for Best Featured Actress in a Play - The Ritz (play)|"The Ritz" (1975)

Primetime Emmy Award for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program|Emmy Award for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program (1977)

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress - Drama Series|Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress - Drama Series (1978)

"The Golden Apple" Cue Magazine Award

Library of Congress Living Legends Award, April 2000

In 2000, the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA) renamed their Award for Excellence in her honor (now named HOLA Rita Moreno Award for Excellence)

"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 " from President George W. Bush in June 2004

Rita Moreno has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7083 Hollywood Blvd.

On December 5, 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver inducted Moreno into the California Hall of Fame , located at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts ., California Museum, Accessed 2007

In 2009, Rita Moreno was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama .

In 2010, the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA) honored her with an HOLA Lifetime Achievement Award

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1950	So Young So Bad	Dolores Guererro	as Rosita Moreno
1950	sortname>The	Tina
1950	Pagan Love Song	Terru
1952	The Ring	Lucy Gomez
1952	Singin' in the Rain	Zelda Zanders
1952	sortname>The	Manuela Rodríguez
1952	Cattle Town	Queli
1953	Fort Vengeance	Bridget Fitzgibbon
1953	Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation	Soubrette	uncredited
1953	Latin Lovers	Christina
1953	sortname>El	Jara
1954	Jivaro	Maroa
1954	sortname>The	Honey Bear
1954	Garden of Evil	Cantina Singer
1955	Untamed	Julia
1955	Seven Cities of Gold	Ula
1956	sortname>The	Sandra Roberts
1956	sortname>The	Tuptim
1956	sortname>The	Huguette
1957	sortname>The	Hetty Hutter
1960	This Rebel Breed	Lola Montalvo
1961	West Side Story	Anita	ubl> Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
1961	Summer and Smoke	Rosa Zacharias
1963	Cry of Battle	Sisa
1968	sortname>The	Vi
1969	Popi	Lupe
1969	Marlowe	Dolores Gonzáles
1971	Carnal Knowledge	Louise
1976	sortname>The	Googie Gomez	ubl>Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1977	Voodoo Passion
1978	sortname>The	Esther Rose
1980	Happy Birthday, Gemini	Lucille Pompi
1981	sortname>The	Claudia Zimmer
1991	''Age Isn't Everything	Rita
1993	Italian Movie	Isabella
1994	I Like It Like That	Rosaria Linares
1995	Carmen Miranda: Bananas Is My Business	Herself	documentary
1995	Angus	Madame Rulenska
1995	America: A Call to Greatness	Herself	docudrama
1998	Slums of Beverly Hills	Belle Abromowitz	Nominated — ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film in a Crossover Role
1999	''Carlo's Wake	Angela Torello
1999	sortname>The	Herself	documentary
2000	Blue Moon	Maggie
2001	Piñero	Miguel's Mother
2003	Casa de los Babys	Señora Muñoz
2003	Beyond Borders: John Sayles in Mexico	Herself	documentary
2004	King of the Corner	Inez
2006	Play It By Ear	Ruth

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1958	Father Knows Best	Chanthini
1971–77	sortname>The	Carmela Otto The Director Pandora the Little Girl, Millie the Helper	780 episodes
1974	''Dominic's Dream	Anita Bente
1974	Out to Lunch	Various	Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Continuing or Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in Variety or Music
1976	sortname>The	Herself	ubl>Episode #1.5
1978	sortname>The	Rita Capkovic	ubl>3 episodes
1979	Anatomy of a Seduction	Nina
1979	sortname>The	Herself/ Host	Special
1981	Evita Perón	Renata Riguel
1982–83	9 to 5	Violet Newstead	ubl>Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
1982	Working	Waitress
1982	Portrait of a Showgirl	Rosella DeLeon	Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
1986	Golden Girls	Renee	Episode: "Empty Nest"
1987	sortname>The	Mrs. Granger	Episode: "You Only Hurt the One You Love"
1989–90	B.L. Stryker	Kimberly Baskin	2 episodes
1994	sortname>The	Miss Wickervich/ Mrs. Stone	Episode: "The Gym Teacher"
1994–98	Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?	Carmen Sandiego	voice
1994–95	sortname>The	Angie Corea	2 episodes
1995	sortname>The	Mom
1997–2003	Oz	Sister Peter Marie Reimondo	ubl>44 episodes
1998	sortname>The	Irma Kelly
1999	Resurrection	Mimi
2004	Copshop	Mary Alice
2005	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Mildred Quintana	Episode: "Night"
2005	Law & Order: Trial by Jury	Mildred Quintana	Episode: "Day"
2006–07	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Frances Goren	3 episodes: "Endgame"; "The War at Home" and "Brother's Keeper"
2007	sortname>The	Luisa Diaz	Episode: "George Testi-Lies for Benny"
2007	Ugly Betty	Aunt Mirta	Episode: "A Tree Grows in Guadalajara"
2007	Cane	Amalia Duque	13 episodes
2011	Happily Divorced	Dori

Easy Listening Music Artists