THE LEGACY OF NEW YORK EPISODE 59: RITA MORENO

Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano;[nb 1][1] December 11, 1931) is a Puerto Rican actress, dancer, and singer.[2] She is noted for her work on stage and screen in a career spanning over seven decades. Moreno is one of the last remaining stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Among her numerous accolades, she is one of a few performers to have been awarded an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony (EGOT)[3][4] and the Triple Crown of Acting, with individual competitive Academy, Emmy, and Tony awards. Additional accolades include the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004, the National Medal of Arts in 2009, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2013, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2015, and a Peabody Award in 2019.

Moreno's early work included supporting roles in the classic musical films Singin' in the Rain (1952) and The King and I (1956), before her breakout role as Anita in West Side Story (1961), which earned her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the first Latin American woman to win an Academy Award.[5] Her other notable films include Popi (1969), Carnal Knowledge (1971), The Four Seasons (1981), I Like It Like That (1994) and the cult film Slums of Beverly Hills (1998). Moreno portrayed Valentina in the 2021 remake of West Side Story directed by Steven Spielberg.

In theater, she starred as Googie Gomez in the 1975 Terrence McNally musical The Ritz earning her the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She reprised her role in the 1976 film directed by Richard Lester which earned her a BAFTA Award for Best Actress nomination. She also acted in Lorraine Hansberry's The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window in 1964 and in Neil Simon's The Odd Couple in 1985.

She was a cast member on the children's television series The Electric Company (1971-1977), and played Sister Peter Marie Reimondo on the HBO series Oz (1997-2003). She received two consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for her roles on The Muppet Show in 1977 and The Rockford Files in 1978. She gained acclaim for her roles in Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? (1994-1999), The CW series Jane the Virgin (2015–2019), and the Netflix revival of One Day at a Time (2017–2020). Her life was profiled in Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It (2021).

PICTURE: By DVSROSS - GLAAD 2014 - Jennifer Lopez - Casper-51, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=100220601
By 産業経済新聞社（Sankei Shinbun Co., Ltd.） - 『サンケイグラフ』1954年10月3日号、産業経済新聞社”The Sankei Graphic”, Sankei Shinbun Co., Ltd. 1954., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=110480243
By Michael Alpert, Public Relations, N.Y., photographer - eBay (front & back), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=88821741
By Luke Harold - Lin-Manuel Miranda Walk of Fame star ceremony, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75640748