These days we are watching very good sitcom “One Day at a Time” on Netlfix. It is a sitcom, but deals with important topics in a serious way. One of the characters in the series is Abuelita/grandmother Lydia, played by the famous Rita Moreno, who turns 90 this year!
Which you might not even guess, she still has the wonderful posture of a dancer!
In her career Rita Moreno, like only a few actors ever, has won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards!
Rita Moreno (Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano) was born in Humacao, Puerto Rico. She was nicknamed “Rosita”. Moreno’s mother moved to New York City in 1936, taking her daughter, with her.
Moreno 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.
Moreno’s film career began in the later years of the Golden Age of Hollywood. She acted steadily in films throughout the 1950’s, usually in small roles. Moreno disliked most of her film work during this period, as she felt the roles she was given were very stereotypical.
In 1961, Moreno landed the role of Anita in Broadway musical West Side Story, which had been played by Chita Rivera on Broadway. Moreno won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for that role. After winning the Oscar, Moreno thought she would be able to continue to perform less stereotypical film roles but was disappointed.
From 1971 to 1977, Moreno was a main cast member on the PBS children’s series The Electric Company. Moreno’s appearance on The Muppet Show earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program in 1977. (Here you can watch Rita Moreno dancing in Muppeth Show – pure magic!). As a result, she became the third person (after Richard Rodgers and Helen Hayes) to have won an Oscar (1962), a Grammy (1972), a Tony (1975), and an Emmy (1977), frequently referred to as an “EGOT“. She won another Emmy award the following year, 1978, this time a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress – Drama Series, on a three-episode arc on The Rockford Files.
Moreno will star in, and executive produce along with Steven Spielberg, the remake of West Side Story, this year.
From the time she was six, Moreno dreamt of having a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Moreno’s dream finally came true in 1995 and there were tears of joy then.
Rita Moreno’s career has lasted for more than 80 years! It is amazing how vital she is and how wonderful her posture is even today at the age of 90, how much she will have this year on December 11th.
Moreno, she has no problem calling herself an old lady. As far as she’s concerned, there’s “no such thing as too old for anything.”
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rita_Moreno
https://www.instagram.com/theritamoreno/
https://www.factinate.com/people/facts-rita-moreno/
https://www.pasadenastarnews.com by Austin Hargrave
