Rita Moreno

Rita Moreno read her own autobiography and it makes all the difference. Her story is a true American Dream story, except for the fact that she went to Hollywood and became a starlet and won many awards. There was some dark clouds under that silver lining, however, and she lays it all bare in raw truth for her reader. My favorite parts were her funny anecdotes of stars she worked with and I kind of wish there had been more of that. There were some not-so-funny, very poignant stories also. Rita Moreno must have a very forgiving nature, because I don't know if I could have forgiven the people in my life if they had hurt me the way they had hurt Rita. Throughout it all you hear every nuance of emotion that fits each scene of her life in her voice and she makes you feel the emotion with her. Very good autobiography. Highly recommend the audiobook version, if you decide to read her autobiography.… (més)

Rita Moreno's grasp of the English language amazes this reader. Description of setting and characters vibrate on the page. The problem rests with the memoir, which spends half the book explaining an idyll childhood in Puerto Rico, but quickly interrupted by migration to New York. The chapters on Rita's men and family drop a hint or two of the situation and then the story turns to another topic. Rita praises many of her friends, lovers, and co-workers, but in the end, Rita stands as the brilliant star that lesser folk must revolve. The ultimate praise for Rita rests in her determination to succeed and to never give up the battle. Rita wins by sheer forbearance an Oscar, a Grammy, a Tony, and two Emmys.… (més)

Rita Moreno read her own autobiography and it makes all the difference. Her story is a true American Dream story, except for the fact that she went to Hollywood and became a starlet and won many awards. There was some dark clouds under that silver lining, however, and she lays it all bare in raw truth for her reader. My favorite parts were her funny anecdotes of stars she worked with and I kind of wish there had been more of that. There were some not-so-funny, very poignant stories also. Rita Moreno must have a very forgiving nature, because I don't know if I could have forgiven the people in my life if they had hurt me the way they had hurt Rita. Throughout it all you hear every nuance of emotion that fits each scene of her life in her voice and she makes you feel the emotion with her. Very good autobiography. Highly recommend the audiobook version, if you decide to read her autobiography.… (més)

Several years ago, I was fortunate enough to sit in on an informal conversation with Rita Moreno in a rehearsal hall at Cleveland’s Playhouse Square. She was a delightful storyteller who captivated the circle of people who made up her audience. Her memoir is just as captivating and chatty.
In February 1936, five-year-old Rosita Delores Alverio was brought from Puerto Rico to New York City by her mother, Rosa Maria Marcano Alverio. “It is as if we are caught in a reverse Wizard of Oz scene....from brilliant Technicolor to grit-gray, black and white.” They left behind the rest of her family: younger brother Francisco, grandfather, father, aunts, uncles, and cousins. The loss, especially of her brother for reasons that were never explained to her, preyed on her mind for decades.
She remembered, “No one spoke Spanish. I didn’t see a single Hispanic face....Because my mami was in such a rush to migrate, she was ahead of the curve.” Instead of coming to work and send money home, her mother came to make a new life.
Rosita worked from the time she was a child, making tissue paper flowers to sell at the five and dime. When they moved to their own apartment, she “spun around the apartment in a spontaneous twirl.” Applause by mother and her friends potent her future career.
Her first theatrical professional engagement at age nine in a Greenwich Village nightclub.
While barely in her teens, she dubbed movies in Spanish for English-speaking films in Spanish neighborhoods and in radio plays.
First Broadway play was Skydrift, starring Eli Wallach. As young and inexperienced as she was, she realized play was bombing so she added actions to enliven in. The leading lady very angry having this child steal scenes. The show closed after one performance.
As she became more involved in theater, she dropped out of school. Eventually she became one of the few people to win Oscar, Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Awards because of her talent and dedication to her profession
RITA MORENO: A MEMOIR talks about her mother’s multiple marriages, her own inferiority complex (partially because of her skin color), the way women were treated by movie moguls and her name change. She discusses her personal relationships, particularly her long-term affair with Marlon Brando and her husband. Brando encouraged her to read more widely, especially Art of Loving by Erich Fromm, history (particularly Civil War, slavery, Native Americans.” Eventually, his other affairs and the way he treated her led her to attempt suicide. Seeing her mother and brother Dennis at the hospital afterwards made her realize how “when you kill yourself–or try to–you wound those who love you.”
Through her sixties, she was offered degrading racist, sexist roles. For West Side Story, all the Puerto Rican characters wore the same color makeup even though the people of Puerto Rico had widely varying skin colors. She was delighted when she was able to portray a woman who wasn’t racially ethnic.
She provides behind the scenes information about the way the studios were run, several of the actors with whom she worked, and tidbits about some of the films. Debbie Reynolds had not danced until Singing in the Rain. Donald O’Connell had to go to hospital after filming “Make ‘Em Laugh.” Gene Kelly had 103 fever when filming title song and dancing in the ice-cold rain.
Her description of how she landed the role of Anita in West Side Story is wonderful.
Well-written and interesting, RITA MORENO: A MEMOIR is a very pleasant visit with a remarkable woman.… (més)