Rita Moreno Documentary on PBS

PBS is running their American Masters of her life at 2AM tonight/tomorrow morning (New York)

Is she dying or something?

It's very interesting.

She's 87. So, yes, she's dying. As are you.

Lin Manuel Miranda helped produce this. He has produced a number of documentaries portraying prominent Puerto Ricans

Her description of the relationship with Brando sounds awful

I thought she was canceled and they’d bury this until after she was dead a few years?

[quote] she refused to keep playing the generic brown girl.

Sometimes she played the generic Asian girl.

I enjoyed the documentary. I learned a lot about her !

She'll be 90 just when WSS opens.

I'm a Moreno fan, but, I think she's in denial about Brando. I haven't seen the PBS doc, but I saw her Mo Rocca interview on CBS Sunday Morning a few years ago.

She claims they were obsessed with each other and that they had a fiery, sex saturated (my words) relationship that turned abusive when one or the other tried to break it off. That I don't doubt. But when I watched that interview, I couldn't help but wonder if she was way more invested than Brando and that he just saw her as another in his harem of men and women.

After all, what did he actually do? He married another woman.

She cli

oops, meant to delete the "She cli"

It’s terrific. She’s so smart and engaging. Made me love her even more. The story of her marriage was very raw and real.

Just watched it and enjoyed it very much. I found the section about the collapse of her marriage very sad. Her husband seemed so supportive but she said he was always trying to control and stifle her. I wonder if there was more to it than that.

How many times does she trash Natalie Wood?

[quote] t. But when I watched that interview, I couldn't help but wonder if she was way more invested than Brando and that he just saw her as another in his harem of men and women.

Moreno states very clearly that she was more obsessed by him than vice versa. When she realized this, she knew she had to leave.

Did he do nasty things with butter to her?

I was surprised that she didn't talk about her infamous little cameo with Jack Nicholson in CARNAL KNOWLEDGE. There was a glimpse of it in a montage of some of her films. I wonder if it was just too distasteful for the documentarians?

Her husband didn't want her to do it. I wonder how much she was paid. She says she no longer wanted to play spitfires but a prostitute with no development no character just there to give a blow job was ok.

She took what she could get. An actress has got to eat

She certainly did.

R18, Rita's performance is one of the most unsettling in the movie and it's a movie filled with unsettling performances. With very few lines, she indeed crafted a character you were able to fill in the back story yourself.

I'm sure the opportunity to work with Mike Nichols and Jack Nicholson was irresistible. Can't blame her. And maybe there were more lines when she accepted the job.

I had no idea she was in The King and I. Great doc and worth watching. I thought she was very candid. Especially about her suicide attempt.

I saw her in The Ritz on Broadway. One of the funniest performances I’ve ever seen. And she’s about the only reason to watch the movie version. She was also terrific on the One Day At a Time reboot.

Is it true she's mean to other actors?

Recorded "The Ritz" when PBS showed it during Pride Month many years ago now. Whenever am feeling down or otherwise need cheering up, Googie Gomez does it every time.

RM talks about character development of Googie Gomez.

Fucking weatherman!

Cannot tell you how many Latina trannies I know or knew who are Googie Gomez!

Did she have any lines as Zelda in SINGIN' IN THE RAIN? I recall her saying how thrilled she was to finally play a girl with no known ethnic background at MGM but IIRC she just poses and grimaces a lot in her couple of scenes as Zelda.

RM doing "Fever" on Muppet Show.

Is that really Rita singing Fever? She sounds dubbed.

Yes, RM was singing, but as with many other singing performances broadcast on television it was likely dubbed.

Here is another clip with messed up soundtrack.

When you think how the Muppet Show episodes were made it likely wasn't possible (nor necessary) for RM to sing live.

You can see towards end when RM gets fed up and goes towards back of stage to get at Animal a pair of hand rises from below in background with pair of cymbals.

Was Rita dubbed in West Side Story? Marni Nixon?

R33

Yes....

Every interview of Rita Moreno contains an obligatory 5 minutes of trash-talking Natalie Wood. She can't seem to grasp that no one would have gone to see West Side Story if Natalie hadn't been in it.

See also:

" Nixon also dubbed several lines for Moreno in the latter part of the "Tonight" ensemble, because the range of that section was too high for both Moreno and Betty Wand. Although it was not industry standard at the time, Nixon arranged to receive a small percentage of the royalties for sales of the soundtrack, which, as she did not receive credit for her performance on the album, she indicates helped "salve any wounds"

"Rita Moreno's singing as Anita was partly dubbed by Betty Wand (and by Nixon, see below). According to Moreno herself, Wand dubbed all or part of her singing in "A Boy Like That," although it's not clear if that was the total extent of the dubbing she did.'

IIRC there is talk that both Moreno and Wand had colds so couldn't hit high notes in "Tonight" so Nixon was called in...

FWIU it was Ms. Wood that was hurt most about being dubbed in West Side Story. Suits lead her along promising all sorts, but they knew all along what was going to happen.

Ms. Wood's voice wasn't bad per se, just instrument wasn't up to what producers and others wanted.

Three "Tired Old Queens at the Movies" discuss things further (starting at 1:27

I enjoyed her as Sr Peter Marie but she's a phony.

'Although it was not industry standard at the time, Nixon arranged to receive a small percentage of the royalties for sales of the soundtrack, which, as she did not receive credit for her performance on the album, she indicates helped "salve any wounds"'

I read a while ago that they actually would not give her royalties but Bernstein gave her a small percentage of his because he knew they were behaving badly.

I hope she negotiated royalties contractually for My Fair Lady because that soundtrack was another bestseller in all its incarnations..

Rita as another kind of Asian in "Father Knows Best."

Natalie was great singing the part of the untalented singer Gypsy Rose Lee.

I imagine some of the tension on the set of WSS was due to Natalie arriving after months of the rest of the young cast rehearsing with Robbins. They had naturally formed close friendships and alliances (and fuckbuddies) and had no patience to bow down to the fresh Hollywood star (who couldn't sing or dance) suddenly in their presence. Natalie was accustomed to more idolatry on her film sets.

Did Rita diss Natalie in the documentary or something? I’m about to watch it. Even though she was miscast, I loved Natalie’a performance in West aside Story. Sorry not sorry. But Rita obviously stole the movie and deservingly won an Oscar for it. Can’t say the same for George Chakiris tho.

West Side Story*

It looks like poor Rita still hasn’t gotten over Marlon Brando.

It looks like poor Rita still hasn’t gotten over Marlon Brando. He sounds like an awful person.

He never grew up.

In the documentary she is shown sitting at a makeup table making up her face and there is a framed photo of her and Brando together.

In her NPR interview she talked about dating Elvis Presley in order to make Brando jealous, but it didn't work. Plus she said Elvis was "boring" - sweet and polite, but boring. But she said she was happy to be dating "two kings" - one of acting and one of music - at the same time!

She also said to Wendy Williams that Elvis was a boy in the bedroom next to Brando.

"But she said she was happy to be dating "two kings" - one of acting and one of music - at the same time!"

Slut!

Has anyone tried to check into a hotel as Miss Rita Moreno?

*check in to

In the documentary, Rita doesn't so much "diss" Natalie as "dismiss" her. I'm guessing that she said more derogatory things that were cut because the film makers felt the comments made Rita appear too bitchy.

It's pretty shocking that Moreno didn't get any movie roles of note following her Oscar win. Brando brought her back to the big screen in a tawdry little film. And that was followed up by cameo parts as a stripper and as a prostitute.

Brando got her pregnant and arranged for an abortion. Later on she is raped by her agent and does nothing -even keeps him as her agent since she fears she won't be able to get anyone else! Years later she runs into the agent at some event and he tells her that he raped her in an effort to get her pregnant so that she would be tied to him for life.

I don’t like her and changed the channel to something interesting

Very disappointing. The show biz accomplishments are overshadowed by the (predictable) litany of breast-beating and self-victimization. Meh.

But you care enough to tell us that.

Why not? It's a thread on the subject. You can't tolerate a dissenting opinion?

But you don't have an opinion on the documentary.

Wood through insecurity was probably pretty cool to a lot of people on the WSS set. Rita was probably jealous of her stardom. After all she came from MGM where stars were all that mattered.

[Quote] Wood through insecurity was probably pretty cool to a lot of people on the WSS set.

Unconvincing.

Who could forget her in MA AND PA KETTLE ON VACATION?

So she was cool to people because she was a bitch?

To my surprise, she owns up to the fact that her marriage to the dentist was less than ideal. For years, she portrayed her marriage as perfect, and her hubby as the doting one. In reality, Rita was a calculating diva who played the game better than anyone else, her husband be damned. I suppose you had to be that way to survive.

I worked on the original Broadway production of THE RITZ, and Rita was a handful. She was also having an affair with Stephen Collins, her leading man. Both were married at the time. That seduce-the-straight-leading-man MO was one she would repeat again and again.

FYI the sweetheart in that production was Jack Weston. And like the chubby chaser, Claude, I would bake Jack a cake and take into his dressing room. He loved it, and so did his wife, Marge Redmond.

Stephen Collins, the pedo?

[Quote] That seduce-the-straight-leading-ma - n MO was one she would repeat again and again.

I doubt she had to do much seducing.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Those who say HW and Jeffery Epstein were tip of iceberg that ran deep for decades were quite right.

Stephen Collins was treated rather gently and suffered no real harm professionally nor personally for his actions.

Amazon is showing a Rita documentary, is it the same one or competing?

RM is a complex person to decode.

OTOH as a minority female in then (and still largely today) business that discriminates against minorities, did she use what she had to get what she needed (or wanted)? And if so perhaps who could blame her since other options were few....

Complex is a good description of her. She has been complaining for decades that she did not get good roles in films. Lena Horne always did the same thing. But they were both beautiful and each got most of the roles that there were available to black and latin actresses. I would be interested in hearing from other black and latin actresses who really did get nothing because Moreno and Horne got everything worth having. Louise Beavers might have something to contribute to the discussion.

Moreno would have done herself a huge favor if she had focused her comments on the lack of diversity in the studios, the lack of Latin representation in the producing ranks, the writers, the directors. Horne, too. But no. They are both actresses. Divas. They had the biggest careers of all their colleagues and then whinged that they did not get more. They have a point. But there are bigger points to make.

Rita wanted to be the Latina Elizabeth Taylor. She’s a trailblazer and has enjoyed great success in her career, but it’s sad she didn’t get decent film roles even after winning an Oscar.

"Rita wanted to be the Latina Elizabeth Taylor"

Honey that scrawny Latina had no tits!

R76 Rita admits to stuffing her bra to look like Liz in the documentary.

Young Rita was a beauty.

A woman of modest areolas, it seems.

R76

Bet that took a fucking whole lot of cotton baby!

Going by clip in R30 RM is barely a "B" cup if that. Probably a "AA"

Unlike RM I only need shaping, not inches...

A documentary about Rita Moreno produced by Lin Manuel Miranda. Uh - no thanks.

Honey when they want a Latina with a rack and rocking body, I'm the one Hollywood called.

Need I say more?

I just got a vision of Raquel as Sister Peter Marie.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

R35 Rita has a right to be annoyed at the Russian Natalie Wood being cast as a Puerto Rican woman who on top of it couldn’t sing or dance as well as she could.

But Rita couldn't sing Anita. And she probably couldn't have danced it on stage either.

But she adores the greek Chakiris playing Bernardo so it is really feminine rivalry and jealousy. It had nothing to do with Wood playing a latina.

Rita is one of the last living legends from that era left.

"Amazon is showing a Rita documentary, is it the same one or competing?"

Same one.

"Rita has a right to be annoyed at the Russian Natalie Wood being cast as a Puerto Rican woman who on top of it couldn’t sing or dance as well as she could.:

Except RM got cast in the better role that featured an incredible singing and dancing showpiece for her. So what exactly was she annoyed about?

And what actress wouldn't have slavered over RM's fantastic opportunity in Marlowe? It's an incredibly brave, sexy, horrible, and outstanding tour de force all at once. So what's the problem again?

No one even remembers Marlowe.

Marlowe? Was he in between Brando and Presley?

You're thinking of Chits amazingly untalented and ugly daughter Lisa who somehow got a Tony nod for Marlowe.

The documentary notably avoids mentioning Moreno's relationship with Kenneth Tynan, whose sadomasochistic proclivities ultimately proved too much for Rita to take. But again, it was another relationship with a man who gets off on degrading women.

I admire her career achievements, but in the docu she came across as rather cold and self-absorbed person.

And my dear, she's still here.

[quote]Rita has a right to be annoyed at the Russian Natalie Wood being cast as a Puerto Rican woman....

Oh, fuck you and your nonsense, R87. If that were true, there is not enough time in one life for Rita Moreno to atone for all the roles she 'stole' from Polynesian actresses, Burmese actresses, Mexican actresses, Native American actresses, and the occasional white actress.

If you think artists should stay in the lane you ignorantly assign to them... die already! Who the hell do you think you are? Artists are creative people who constantly strive for more and you are NOTHING.

"You're thinking of Chits amazingly untalented and ugly daughter Lisa who somehow got a Tony nod for Marlowe."

No, I'm thinking of the movie with James Garner as the titular gumshoe. Moreno's turn in it is amazing.

Titular, hehehe

R96 Go to hell you racist.

I worked with both Rita Moreno and Stephen Collins in the 1970s in separate projects (neither was THE RITZ) and they were both very pleasant and not difficult at all.

I also worked with Stephen Collins a few times back in the 1980s and I adored him. He seemed the sweetest guy, very smart, courteous and professional and with good looks just off the charts. And this was at the Williamstown Theatre Festival which was swarming with underaged eager girl apprentices and interns with little or no supervision. Yet there were never any rumors of misconduct on his part, in that small intimate community.

So I was very shocked by his pedophilic actions and very sorry to hear it all come to light.

Stephen Collins was quite the heartthrob back then.

R99... Fascist in woke clothing.

[Quote] very sorry to hear it all come to light.

Why?

[Quote] Moreno's relationship with Kenneth Tynan, whose sadomasochistic proclivities ultimately proved too much for Rita to take. But again, it was another relationship with a man who gets off on degrading women.

I thought he ate her ass in a train carriage. Was he a switch?

Rita still knows where to find the boys.

R106 The Gay boys, she knows how to fill a chorus line.

r104, I did not phrase that very well when I said I was "very sorry to hear of Collins' actions come to light."

Of course, it was a good thing that he was exposed. What I meant was I was very disappointed to hear that Collins was not the man I thought he was. And also totally flummoxed that he could have had this terrible issue and have hidden it so well. In fact, I still can't quite make sense of it. But it just goes to show how you can work with a person and not really know or understand them at all.

Thank you for clarifying, r108.

Whine, whine, whine. Even as a kid, I hated her 'I wish you were me" speech at the Emmy's, hate her more now for the 'I'm not supporting' yack when she won her Tony. And these people with the victim shit. Acting isn't easy for anyone but you'd never know that here.

What idiots like Morena (and still today, America Ferrera, Eva Longoria, etc.) fail to accept is that their Latin roots were their hook and they likely would have been lost in the crowd without them. Thousands of pretty white women didn't make it in the studio system and even/especially today. Everyone needs to shut up on all their "oppression" and 'wounds" and say Thank you for a nice long career.

R108 I got what you wanted to say when you first said it. It was pretty obvious 'when they came to light.'

Disagree. It's not just about opportunities, or lack thereof, but also the types of roles on offer.

Not in the world of acting. Good looking kids fail just as much as anyone else. it's about nerve more than talent as Lynda Obst once said. Any working actor should be grateful because nobody wins them all nor wins them forever.

It's not about feeling entitled to (with one look) play every role. It's about the insult of stereotyping that comes when the performer belongs to a minority. Why the fuck couldn't Rita play Spanish Rose opposite Dick Van Dyke? Janet Fucking Leigh got the part. That was some bullshit. The "you should be grateful just to work" is such a small minded angle to take. I'm surprised to read it on a gay site.

This thread brought out the bigots lmao.

I cringed at the clip of the antiblack Gina Rodriguez in the documentary.

And I can tell you from experience that every actor goes through that, not just minorities. You get older, you are done with young dads. You get heavier, most roles you get specify just that in the description or dialogue or both. You have an effeminate voice, you aren't playing the hetero horndog, sorry. It's all part of the game but the wannabe victims refuse that narrative -- and usually quit, whining the whole way and bitching about 'bigots".

Yes, R114, I am a gay male actor and work a lot because I learned how to adapt -- and didn't quit. It's not small minded, just a fact of life, that most aspiring actors don't get to first base in the film biz. So be gracious.

Be Kind Rewind did a good video about Rita.

R39- More like - Three tired, old and BITCHY queens.

Rita Hayworth was from Brooklyn.

[Quote] Yes, I am a gay male actor and work a lot because I learned how to adapt -- and didn't quit. It's not small minded, just a fact of life, that most aspiring actors don't get to first base in the film biz. So be gracious.

Rita Moreno has a decades long career. She has never lacked for work. She doesn't need you to tell her to be gracious. Things change because people rattle the cage. If you're happy with 5 or under, that's good for you.

To my knowledge, the only interesting thing she ever said was that Joan Crawford tried to upstage her boring ass at the Oscars.

You haven't seen OZ?

To me an interesting thing she said was that the dance at the gym was the weakest of the big numbers in WSS because it was filmed after Robbins was fired. But I was shocked to learn it wasn't even choreographed by Robbins(here on DL) and it is maybe the most famous number in the film.

[quote]It's about the insult of stereotyping that comes when the performer belongs to a minority.

Stereotyping is fundamental to casting most roles. Dad has to be the tallest. Rarely will an actress playing a wife be taller than her husband. Unless offspring are fully adult, the actor playing the son will not be taller than the actor playing his father. Fix the casting of the lead and you can make predictions about a lot of the rest of the casting. It always happens, but it does so to keep the narrative clear.

Sophia Loren got cast in all sorts of leading roles in prominent projects, sometimes even against type . Moreno's problem is that she is a character actress and a great supporting player, but comes equipped with a diva's ego.

Loren is a European actress. You might as well spout off about Anna Magnani.

[quote]Moreno's problem is that she is a character actress and a great supporting player, but comes equipped with a diva's ego.

Honey, the only thing I support are my beads!

Broadway insiders have known for decades that Peter Gennaro, Robbins' WSS assistant choreographer, actually devised the steps for the Mambo portion of Dance at the Gym and America in the original Broadway production. Robbins, of course, edited the work, but the heart of it is all Gennaro. Chita Rivera has publicly spoken about this in recent years.

Gennaro stayed on in Hollywood to continue the work on the film once Robbins was let go.

Peter Gennaro was not an assistant to Jerome Robbins. Peter Gennaro was credited as Co-choreographer on the original Broadway production. It was Robbins' idea that Gennaro choreograph the Sharks.

Yes, I stand corrected, r129. But it must be said that Robbins never credited Gennaro publicly with creating those specific dances. In any case, I think you get my gist as far as the film choreography is concerned.

Well it was my impression that Robbins did all the choreography. It was very surprising to find that Gennaro was such an important contributor. Especially considering that much of Gennaro's subsequent for the most part is pretty nondescript except for the film of Molly Brown.

Asshole at R121, how much more clear could I be that I was responding to R114? And not only are you dead wrong on the '5 and under' but you're clearly a cunt if you think that is a disgrace somehow. Write about shit you know about -- which sure isn't the movie biz.

r132 is THROWING DOWN!!

SHIT JUST GOT REAL!!!

'subsequent work'

This thread derailed fast.

CHITA: "I can play any role I choose!"

RITA: "Gypsies, Italians, and Black Jews!"

"This thread derailed fast."

WAY too many hausfraus using buzzwords like "opportunities" as if there is any true logic to an acting career. Morons.

In the Tony clip why is Joe Smith suddenly grabbed and ushered offstage by a nurse from 1910? It's like this old man(who was actually living in a nursing home at the time) is suddenly having a flashback to his youth.

Rita won an Oscar, you twit r137. She didn't get another movie for most of the decade. That isn't part for the course for an Oscar winner.

[quote] That isn't part for the course

Speaking of twits...

Typos don't make you a twit. Acting like Moreno could do with taking your advice... yes, a twit move.

R139, the business is filled with stories of actors and actresses who won Oscars, especially in supporting roles, and then struggled to find work. Big careers filled with important roles generally do not follow Oscars.

[Quote] the business is filled with stories of actors and actresses who won Oscars, especially in supporting roles, and then struggled to find work.

Not immediately after a win. They even tried to make Louise Fletcher a movie star... Mo'Nique torpedoed herself, of course.

Read it for yourselves. A few of these winners had extraordinary careers, but some of them had those careers BEFORE winning the Oscar. But, for the most part, these supporting actress Oscar winners were not the actresses who headlined a number of big Hollywood films.

In fact, Rita Moreno's career was/is bigger than most of them. Perhaps she really did get a career boost from her Oscar.

She didn't. She went to London and played the second female lead in "She Loves Me."

"Rita won an Oscar, you twit [R137]. She didn't get another movie for most of the decade. That isn't part for the course for an Oscar winner."

By her own admission, she turned down lots of roles. I get the feeling she was considered a risk/pain in the ass even before the suicide stuff.

Haing S. Njor, Dorothy Malone, you want a long list?

Both names you cite had high profile screen work after their wins.

Suicide attempt = Uninsurable.

She got film offers after WSS but they were all for more supporting roles as dumbed down versions of Latina Spitfires that were nowhere near as well-written as Anita. Of course, she turned them down.

Reading this thread made me realize that I have been combining Chita Rivera and Rita Moreno into one person for the last ten years. Prior to that I knew they were different actresses. I was shocked by posts about Moreno being dubbed and not being able to dance. And I remember she could sing and dance in Kiss of the Spider Woman very well.

Thanks DL for defogging my addled mind!

You are not alone in that, R150.

When I was a teenager I’d watch Stephen Collins on TV and lie in my twin bed masturbating like a mofo

Pizza Hut

Today...𝗽𝗵

R152 Were you brought in as a witness for the prosecution?

I never cared for her.

For how long did Rita have the pop eyes?

The recent DL thread on Sally Struthers had some interesting Rita Moreno insights. Struthers and Moreno worked together on the female version of “The Odd Couple”, and Struthers was really blunt in an interview with Marc Maron about not being a Moreno fan. When Maron said that his personal impressions of Moreno had been positive, Struthers responded something to the effect of, “Well, sure — you’re a man!”

That thread prompted me to look for the autobiography of Lewis J. Stadlen, who was also featured in “The Odd Couple”. Stadlen claimed that he and Moreno had an affair during the run of the show.

[quote]The Autobiography of Lewis J. Stadlen

Oh, I can't wait for THAT to be turned into a TV movie.

A documentary, over 150 DL replies, and yet one vital question remains unanswered:

Does her pussy stink?

Moreno couldn't have been happy doing the straw hat circuit with Sally Struthers. Struthers was a perennial supporting player (her won show lasted a short season) and a good deal younger.

Then she shouldn't have taken the job.

I’m so confused, I see a 2021 documentary on her on Netflix too, is it the same one?

That female “Odd Couple” did tour for a long time (I think it featured DL favorite Sandy Dennis at one point) but also made it to Broadway with Moreno and Struthers.

Moreno indulges in some more revisionist history in the documentary, when discussing her Broadway run in Lorraine Hansberry’s “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window”. Moreno claims the play “didn’t last a week” but it actually ran over 100 performances and almost three months.

Great info, R165. I already know not to believe ANYTHING coming out of an actress's mouth. But it's worthwhile to catch them in it, at least from time to time.

Moreno got the last laugh on that Odd Couple revival in that not only did she get great reviews, more than a few critics noted that it was ridiculous she played the Oscar part while fatso Sally played Felix. John Simon said Moreno was slim, chic and well groomed and Struthers was grossly overweight and looked as if she never saw a brush.

[quote] I’m so confused, I see a 2021 documentary on her on Netflix too, is it the same one?

Yes. it premiered on PBS and then went to Netflix

Natalie Wood arrived on the set of WSS with a chip on her shoulder. She resented the actor who played Tony because she had wanted Warren Beatty (whom she was fucking) to get the role. So she had a bad attitude the entire time.

R164: Did Dennis play Felix or Oscar? Felix is a more obvious choice but I could see her doing either one---Oscar as a slob and a fractured neurotic would have been interesting.

R165 RM's auto-bio is FULL of similar inconsistencies. To the point that I was convinced the editors left it that way to get back at her for being difficult.

Interesting, R171! Was interested in checking out Moreno’s autobiography, but if she plays fast and loose with facts (especially ones that can be easily disproved) I’ll pass.

And Sandy Dennis played Florence (Felix) in the touring version of “The Odd Couple”.

But Wood took it out entirely on Beymer which is why he never appears on those anniversary get togethers. It was clearly a very traumatic experience for him. Yet on screen their love for each other is palpable.

Did Beymer fuck RJ?

When Rita was cast in the film version of The Ritz she said ‘this is one role Natalie Wood isn’t going to get.’ Talk about holding a grudge.

It was a quip.

When Rita was told that Natalie Wood has drowned, she said "This is one role Natalie Wood will be good at--a dead person!" Talk about holding a grudge.

She complains in this interview about how shameful she felt having to wear brown makeup and 'put on an accent' during her early films at MGM, but uh...didn't she do EXACTLY the same thing for West Side Story?

Proof that old women can be jerks. She's obnoxious. This is not news.

If she didn't want to play those roles, all she had to do was pack up her principles and move to the theater. With her Hollywood credits, she could - and subsequently did - play any role she wanted.

And how did she make her biggest success on Broadway? Playing Googie Gomez, the stereotypical Latin spitfire actress of all time.

Miss Moreno is talented, that cannot be denied. But she is wildly self-absorbed, leading to all manner of inconsistencies in her interior logic.

Wildly self-absorbed. Spot on, R180.

Look at who was nominated and wonin the 10 years before and after Rita won the Oscar. Most were always character/supporting players and went back to playing those parts.

Of the winners from 1950-70 I’d say the only one to become a leading lady star was Goldie Hawn.

I think they are teeing her up to get a Supporting Actress Oscar for this. I hope not, but you never know....

Two Supporting Actress Oscars, each for West Side Story?

Rita always felt guilty about King and I but she was a contract player. "There were other girls in the room testing for Tuptim too, one of whom was perfect, absolutely perfect for the role. It was a girl named France Nuyen—beautiful, gorgeous, she still is—who was Vietnamese and French. I thought, Oh well, she's going to get it, as she should. But I did my test, and guess who got the part? Me. And I've always felt guilty about that because I knew she really should have gotten it. But I got it because I was a contract player."

She’s a bit too self obsessed and self congratulatory for my taste. She was a looker and moderately talented, did some pretty good stuff, grew into a good actress, but comes on too strong about herself. Can’t put my finger on it- she ain’t no Judy Garland- but acts like she is (although Judy herself was much more modest).

And Judy had an inferiority complex the size of the Grand Canyon. I don't think Rita ever had that problem.

I'm glad Chita was able to get Lisa to post so often on this thread. We love ya Chits, but face it. You were never going to get WSS with that face of yours.