Rita Moreno

Rita Moreno is one of a select group of only eight living performers to have achieved entertainment's grand slam, having won all four of the most prestigious awards in show business: the Oscar, the Emmy, the Tony, and the Grammy. The Oscar was for her performance as Anita in the 1962 motion picture West Side Story, for which she also won the Golden Globe; the two Emmys were for a 1977 variety appearance on The Muppet Show and in 1978 for a dramatic guest appearance on The Rockford Files; the Tony was for her 1973 triumph on Broadway as "Googie Gomez" in "The Ritz"; and the Grammy was for her 1972 performance on The Electric Company Album for children which was based on the long-running television show of the same name.

Along the way, Moreno has received dozens of other show business awards, beginning in 1968 with the Joseph Jefferson Award which she was won for her brilliant performance as "Serafina" in "The Rose Tattoo." In 1985 she repeated her Chicago triumph and was awarded the prestigious Sara Siddons Award for her portrayal of "Olive Madison" in the female version of "The Odd Couple." In 1995 Moreno received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Moreno was born Rosa Dolores Alverio in Humacao, a small town near the famous rain forest of Puerto Rico. When she was five years old she and her mother moved to New York. The following year she started dancing lessons. At age 13 she had her Broadway debut in "Skydrift" which starred Eli Wallach. Then, in the true tradition of Hollywood, a talent scout arranged a meeting for the 17-year-old with Louis B. Mayer and she was signed to a contract with MGM.

From that point on her career advanced steadily. She made some 30 films early in her career, too often typecast as a Mexican spitfire or Indian maiden. During that period she appeared in films with Richard Widmark, Esther Williams, Mario Lanza, Susan Hayward, Tyrone Power, and Gary Cooper. She appeared in the marvelous Singin' in the Rain starring Gene Kelly. She was also featured as "Tuptim" in the classic The King and I with Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr, but it was only after she won an Academy Award for her outstanding performance as "Anita" in West Side Story that she was finally recognized as a major talent.

In 1962 she moved to London where she appeared in Hal Prince's production of "She Loves Me." She then returned to New York to star in Lorraine Hansbury's "The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window." On Broadway she also appeared as the female lead opposite Robert Shaw in "Gantry" and with Jimmy Coco in "The Last of the Red Hot Lovers," followed by a Tony Award nomination for her role in "The National Health" in 1974. Moreno then starred in "The Ritz" for which she received the Tony Award in 1975. In 1981 she once again appeared opposite James Coco in "Wally's Café." She was most recently seen on Broadway in the female version of Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple." In 1997 she starred in the London production of "Sunset Boulevard." In 2004 Moreno received rave reviews for her interpretation as Maria Callas in the Terrence McNally play "Master Class." In 2006 she received similar acclaim for her portrayal of Amanda Wingfield in The Berkeley Repertory production of "The Glass Menagerie."

Moreno has appeared in regional theatre in such diverse roles as "Lola" in "Damn Yankees," "Anne Sullivan" in "The Miracle Worker," "Doris" in "The Owl and the Pussycat," and "Mama Rose" in "Gypsy."

It may be said that Rita Moreno, in portraying an Irish teacher, an Italian widow, a reformed prostitute, a lady evangelist, an English lady, and a southern belle has broken the mold of Latino stereotyping.

In 1967 Moreno resumed her screen career playing opposite Marlon Brando in The Night of the Following Day, then with James Garner in Marlowe, as Alan Arkin's girlfriend in Popi, and in Mike Nichol's production of Carnal Knowledge. She then starred in the film version of The Ritz and went on to do Alan Alda's The Four Seasons followed by the highly acclaimed Columbia Picture release I Like It Like That and the feature film Angus with George C. Scott. More recently she was the lead in the independent feature Carlo's Wake co-starring Christopher Meloni and in 1999 she starred in the film Blue Moon opposite Ben Cazzara. The following year she appeared in the highly acclaimed movie Pinero starring Benjamin Bratt and in 2002 she completed work in the John Sayles film Casa de los Babys.

Moreno has also been the guest star on a wide variety of television productions both in the US and abroad. She is proud to have been a featured artist for many years on The Electric Company, the highly regarded educational television program for children. She has starred in her own TV series, the sitcom version of the film 9 to 5. She then played opposite Burt Reynolds in B.L. Stryker. In 1994 Moreno returned to New York to appear as a series regular with Bill Cosby in the NBC Cosby Mystery Series. Most recently she was one of the leads in the highly acclaimed HBO series OZ. In 1995 Moreno returned to the New York stage in Anne Meara's "After Play" and in Circle Repertory's production of "Size of the World."

She continues to keep busy performing concerts across the country and as a guest artist with symphony orchestras. In 1993 she was invited to perform at President Clinton's inauguration and later that month performed at the White House. Moreno's latest endeavor has been in cabaret where she has met with great critical success. In 2002 she appeared as the guest artist with the San Francisco Symphony in a production of "Candide."

In 2007 Moreno starred on CBS in the television series Cane.

In addition to her film, stage, television, and concert careers, Moreno fills her spare time by lecturing to various organizations as well as to university audiences on such varied topics as the value of diversity to our culture, the power of language, getting older without getting old, and the history of the arts in film, television, and theatre. She is also involved with a number of civic and charitable organizations and events.

Moreno has served on the National Endowment for the Arts and as a Commissioner for the President's White House Fellowships. She has also served as a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

At a White House ceremony in June 2004 Moreno was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush. The medal is the highest honor bestowed upon a civilian and ranks only second to the Congressional Medal of Honor as the nation's highest award. It is conferred on individuals for a lifetime of meritorious service.

In 2007, Moreno was inducted into the California Hall of Fame by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In 2010 she was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama as well as the Here I Stand Award for activism in the arts and the HOLA Lifetime Achievement Award.