Singin' and Dancing Back in Time.: Happy Birthday: Rita Moreno!

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Happy Birthday: Rita Moreno!

Rita Moreno (born December 11, 1931) is a Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress. She began her first dancing lessons soon after arriving in the United States from a friend of her mother, a Spanish dancer called Paco Cansino who was the uncle of Rita Hayworth.

She had her first Broadway role—as "Angelina" in Skydrift --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, in which she played Zelda Zanners, a fictional silent screen vamp. In 1956, she had a supporting role in the film version of The King and I as Tuptim.

In 1961, Moreno landed the role of Anita in the Broadway musical, West Side Story, which was played by Chita Rivera on Broadway. Moreno won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for that role.

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

Besides appearing in Singin' in the Rain, The King and I, Summer and Smoke (1961), 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 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.

Personal Quote: Bigger than life is not difficult for me. I am bigger than life.

3 comments:

JavaBeanRushDecember 11, 2010 at 7:41 AM
A most entertaining performer!

Here's Rita Moreno's interview for the Archive of American Television from June 22,2000.

Ms. Moreno recalls her entire career.
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DawnDecember 12, 2010 at 3:31 AM
Java Bean Rush, Please double check the link. I could not get it to work for me. :( Thank you.
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montyDecember 12, 2010 at 4:49 AM
I love Rita Moreno. Great birthday post Dawn.
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