Rita Dolores Moreno is a Puerto Rican actress and singer.
She is the only Hispanic and one of the few performers to have won all four major annual
American entertainment awards, which include an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy and a Tony, and
was the second Puerto Rican to win an Oscar.
Early years Moreno, nicknamed "Rosita", was born Rosa
Dolores Alverío in Humacao, Puerto Rico to Rosa María, a seamstress, and Francisco José
"Paco" Alverío, a farmer.
Moreno, whose mother was 17 at the time of her birth, was raised in nearby Juncos.
Rita's mother moved to New York City in 1936, taking her daughter, but not her son, Rita's
younger brother, Francisco.
Rita would later adopt the surname of her first stepfather, Edward Moreno, Rosa Maria's
second husband, by whom Rita would have a younger stepbrother, Dennis Moreno, who died
in a car crash.
Career Rita 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.
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 Skydrift — by the time she was 13, which
caught the attention of Hollywood talent scouts.
Early roles She appeared in small roles in The Toast of
New Orleans and Singin' in the Rain, in which she played the starlet "Zelda Zanders".
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 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 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 won the 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."
She went on to be the first Hispanic to win an Oscar, a Grammy, a Tony, and an Emmy.
In 1985, she won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago.
Other roles She starred in Summer and Smoke, Cry of Battle,
and afterwards, The Night of the Following Day, Popi, Marlowe, Carnal Knowledge and The
Ritz.
From 1971 to 1977, Moreno played many characters on the PBS children's series The Electric
Company, most notably 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 "Otto", the very short-tempered
director.
Rita 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 first three seasons of the sitcom version of Nine to Five
during the early 1980s.
Broadway and television Moreno's Broadway credits include The Last
of the Red Hot Lovers, Gantry, 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 on Fox's animated
series 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.
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 HBO series, Oz for which she
won an ALMA Award.
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.
Performing in the 21st century Moreno continues to be active on stage and
screen, and as a singer.
In 2006, she portrayed Amanda Wingfield in Berkeley Repertory Theatre's revival of The
Glass Menagerie.
She had a recurring role on Law and Order: Criminal Intent as the dying mother of Detective
Robert Goren.
She was a regular on the short-lived 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.
She released an eponymous album of nightclub songs in 2000 on the Varèse Sarabande label,
with liner notes by Michael Feinstein.
In September 2011, Moreno began performing a solo autobiographical show at the Berkeley
Rep in Berkeley, California, Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup written by Berkeley Rep
artistic director Tony Taccone after hours of interviews with Moreno.
In 2014, it was announced that Rita Moreno has been cast in NBC's television film Old
Soul, alongside Natasha Lyonne, Fred Willard and Ellen Burstyn.
Personal life Moreno had an eight year long affair with
actor Marlon Brando.
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 Fisher, and two grandsons, Justin and Cameron Fisher.
In an interview with Good Day LA, Moreno stated that Elvis Presley was not a good lover.
They dated for quite some time, but whenever the opportunity presented itself to take the
relationship to another level, Presley backed off.
Selected awards
Among Moreno's awards and recognitions are the following:
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress
The Joseph Jefferson Award: Best Chicago Theatre Actress
Grammy Award Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a
Play Emmy Award for Individual Performance in a
Variety or Music Program Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress - Drama
Series Library of Congress Living Legends Award
The Hispanic Organization of Latin actresses renamed their Award for Excellence in her
honor The Sarah Siddons Award 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
Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush
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.
In 2009, Moreno was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama.
In 2010, the Hispanic Organization of Latin actresses honored Moreno with an HOLA Lifetime
Achievement Award The Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award
Filmography Film
Television See also
List of famous 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
References
External links Rita Moreno at the Internet Broadway Database
Rita Moreno at the Internet Off-Broadway Database Rita Moreno at the Internet Movie Database
Rita Moreno interview, Downstage Center XM Radio interview by the American Theatre Wing,
January 2007; March 2007.
Rita Moreno interview video at the Archive of American Television
TonyAwards.com Interview with Rita Moreno Rita Moreno; video produced by Makers: Women
Who Make America