Rita Moreno shades Natalie Wood

What a bitch. NO ONE would have gone to see the original movie if Natalie hadn't been in it.

Rita seems to be a member of the vast number of providers of shade on the website known as datalounge.

R1 I know she was miscast in the role but I still loved Natalie’s performance.

I don’t like Rita.

Natalie was gorgeous and moving in the role.

Rita really doesn’t seem to like Natalie.

I'm beginning to think that in her dotage, Rita doesn't like anybody or anything anymore.

Moreno has had enormous ego issues all her life.

She blames bigotry for her lack of being Elizabeth Taylor with bananas on her head.

And everyone in the business knows she is a nasty, spiteful piece of work.

Bye, Rita. Bye bye.

I tried to watch West Side Story but I couldn't make it through the dance fighting.

She was perfect as a prison guard in that Oz show.

How tacky

I wonder if Natalie was a bitch to her during West Side Story? It would explain her shady comments about her over the years.

I'm sorry, Rita, but Natalie's performance in the final scene of the movie is amazing.

I wish the linked video was of higher resolution. Don't know if DL allows time links, but it starts around 1:51.

I’m generally a sucker for late career documentaries, but I found hers utterly repulsive. She trashed on her husband and the movies that made her a star. She pushed this image of herself as an impish child who never grew up. She blamed everyone but herself for the limitations of her romantic and professional success. Gross.

R4 and R5, Chita doesn't like Rita either.

R12 I agree, Natalie always brings a tear to my eye in that scene. Fuck old Rita.

She's a little too full of herself. What an ego.

Wow great timing.

She’ll always have starred in the GG episode everyone disowns so there’s that.

Wasn’t Rita dubbed in one of the 2 songs she had in West Side Story? I mean if she had Wood’s role, Marni Nixon would be dubbing for her as well.

I love this scene from Singin' in the Rain, not for Rita, but for the guy who screams at her character, "Zelda! Oh, Zelda!" at 36 seconds.

Gross that the young girl playing “Madia” goes “Yaaaaaaaay!”

Rita is probably still bitter that she wasn’t offered better roles after her Oscar win.

R20 She said “Oh God” after realizing Rita’s comment was shady lol.

Natalie was not one to be crossed. She is looking down right now, livid pissed.

R18 Yes, for A Boy Like That (by Betty Wand), and the latter part of the Tonight quintet (by Marni Nixon).

Plus she was dubbed in The King and I too, where she went yellowface. Y'know, given she's talking about how important representation is, and all.

I get the impression Natalie didn't gel with a lot of the WTS cast. I don't think Rita is the only one

Hollywood used to cast ethnic looking actors in ethnic roles. They’d cast Latinas as Asians and Asians as Latinas, it didn’t matter.

typical cunty white latina

she looks good for her she though

I think what drove Rita insane was that Natalie was so aloof. After all, she was the one certified A-list movie star in the cast.

R25 Natalie didn’t get along with Richard Beymer either.

I’m guessing Natalie was under a lot of pressure during the making of that movie. It was a big movie, much of it on her shoulders. And probably a lot going on in her personal life as usual. She was not the easy-going type.

R28 I remember reading that Natalie would also come to dance rehearsals unprepared or mess up and she wasn’t very apologetic about it.

And she probably wasn't used to socializing with the Hispanic staff.

R32 She was good friends with Perry Lopez who was Puerto Rican.

Also, she was probably a little out of her depth with the theater-trained singers and dancers all around her.

You know how bitchy fags can be.

Como se dice "cunt" en español?

Theatre trained singers, R34? Like who? All of the actors in that movie were dubbed, including Rita.

Rita was also dubbed in The King And I and played an Asian character, so she should be less critical of Natalie.

Poor Natalie. Leave her alone, Rita. She did the jobs asked of her at the time and made multiple timeless, iconic movies while not having the best personal life. Let her work stand on its merits.

That was extremely disrespectful to her long-dead co-star. So unnecessary.

Rita gets a lot of fawning praise these days for being a Latina and old. She’s very full of herself.

She only has a Grammy for a Children's album, an Emmy as guest star on The Rockford Files and 1 Supporting Tony win (no other nominations).

When you read she's an EGOT winner it sounds so impressive. She's probably the least deserving of the title.

I never paid much attention until I saw how mean she was. And to think she beat our Judy for the 1961 Oscar!

Sally Struthers described Moreno as "just a mean, difficult human being."

R40 She is treated like the Latina Cicely Tyson, when, based on her career and roles, she is more like the Latina Loretta Devine. I understand the desire for a community to have a pillar, and for one figurehead to be seen as breaking a glass ceiling, but Rita is not that.

I wonder what J-lo and Rita think of each other? They seem to be two sides of the same person

Rita Moreno pushing 90, is proof that only the good die young.

I understand her comments but the timing of her words was just awful.

The 2 things that I saw Rita in was The Electric Company & that GG pilot.

I will always love Natalie Wood. Rita Moreno? Not so much.

This hardly counts as "shade." Everyone knew Natalie couldn't sing (they got the proof a year later, when GYPSY came out, with Natalie doing most of her own singing). It's not shade to point out that the current Maria does her own singing.

[quote]And everyone in the business knows she is a nasty, spiteful piece of work No one knows that at all. In fact, Moreno's reputation in the business is exactly the opposite of what you're reporting.

You have a racist edge to what you say, which means you must be Matt.

I agree with R46, the timing of the comments was terrible.

I'll add that the way that she said it was horrible too.

R48 Nothing racist about what he said. Not every critical remark is coded racism.

Given that Rita herself was dubbed, not a great point for her to be making.

[quote]She is treated like the Latina Cicely Tyson, when, based on her career and roles, she is more like the Latina Loretta Devine.

Only on the DL could someone outshade Rita.

I've always suspected Moreno was considered for Maria, but given a smaller role instead.

Her resume is hardly outstanding.

There's a reason she was never given an special guest star on Murder, She Wrote

Rita Moreno is a total bitch.

This reminds me of the gloriously DL thread tearing into Olivia DeHavilland for saying she lost the Oscar for GWTW as she should have been nominated in LEAD and that she stopped believing in God when she lost.

Rita was on Rockford Files? Did she ever appear on Love Boat?

R42- and Sally Struthers is a DOLL.

^ Sally S. is a religious right supporter =TB, 700 Club, etc. etc.

If it's Sally's team or Rita's then I pick the latter based on who they both lend their names to.

Rita's been ripping on Natalie for years. IMO, it's because Rita thinks Natalie's the star that SHE should have been. Given that Natalie's been gone 40 years as of yesterday, you'd think Rita would give it a rest. As for Natalie not being Latina, neither was Italian Carol Lawrence, the original Maria. George Chakiris as Bernardo was Greek. Why doesn't Rita ever ding them? Because they're alive and Natalie's conveniently dead?

R61- and Rita's conveniently a BITCH

Back then, people didn’t need to see their exact replicas on screen to feel… validated.

The representation psychos need to die in a grease fire. Or just get a fucking life.

Humans are humans. Stop obsessing and subdividing people by slight differences in fucking genetic pigmentation.

Rita has been shading Natalie for decades which shows what a low rent cunt she really is.

All Rita said was "that actually has a singing voice" when they were talking about a Latina finally playing the part of Maria. They're not wrong on that account, and Rita isn't wrong about Natalie's singing.

I saw the Rita documentary and I liked it. I felt bad she sort of badmouthed her since deceased doctor husband, and seemed hung up on Marlon Brando. But otherwise she seemed likeable and relatable to me. Her place in San Francisco was great.

Rita has a big role in the new version. I saw a screening last night and was surprised how much she was in it. They give her a song. Multiple scenes. She's all over the movie.

Rita and cockroaches…they’ll bury us all for millennia to come.

Rita's a total cunt and clearly has some sort of grudge against Natalie but I don't comprehend the insistence of Natalie being some great talent on DL. She couldn't sing and the actress from Broadway (and other actresses who tried out that could sing) were passed over for her for whatever reason. If Natalie didn't die tragically, people wouldn't be so defensive of her.........she's FINE in WSS actually, one of her better roles.

Banish her to Greenland along with the Palestinians.

Rita's right! Airhead Natalie only had a career because she was fuckable while looking underage.

I read some excerpts from an actor's autobiography here recently (he said he shared a house with Rock Hudson in Mexico while making a movie), and he mentioned his friendship with Natalie Wood. He said at some point Natalie was hanging around with the wrong people and it changed her behavior, and he was sad to say he didn't like the person she had become during that time. I wonder if it was during her WSS period - that would explain why others beside Rita Moreno didn't get along with her.

That said, Rita Moreno should shut up.

R63 Is white and has always been represented in Hollywood, media and television etc. But can't understand why minorities want to see themselves reflected in film & television etc.

The privilege, entitlement & none understanding of minorities, within the fragile white mindset never surprises me.

May you come back as a disadvantaged minority in your next lifetime.

R43 Is a super cunt. It's not those womens fault, hollywood was super racist and didn't give them more opportunities, or didn't even try to open the door to more Black and Latina writers and directors producers being able to create films for those audiences etc.

I think people praise those two actresses, because people know they tried and they we're the first to find a semblance of success in their fields. Of course they didn't have huge careers, because the huge opportunities weren't there. And there was a lot of assholes running the show back then who didn't see the value in audiences outside of white Americans.

Blame the system, not these women who tried and opened the door for others from their communities coming after them.

Rita only starred in The King and I because Dorothy Dandridge turned down the role

R73 No, I am NOT a super cunt.

Of course these actresses had limited career due to their race. However, that STILL doesn’t mean that we should pretend they had a bigger influence than they did.

Rita did not usher in a huge wave of Latina actress due to her profound and stunning craft and determination. She instead was determined and got a few good roles and a lot of bit parts. It doesn’t mean she cannot be commended, but it does mean that she shouldn’t be elevated to the status to icon just on a technicality.

What do you have against Loretta Devine?

R65 She tried to kill herself over Marlon Brando, so it’s odd to hear talk about him favoringly.

hear her*

Has Rita ever played against type?

[quote]She was perfect as a prison guard in that Oz show.

She played a social worker, not a guard.

It’s a good thing Natalie is dead, because I imagine she would get cancelled today for defending her casting in West Side Story.

Rita herself was already canceled this year for her comments about In the Heights. She’s about to turn 90 and doesn’t give a fuck.

In 1961, unlike today, you needed an A-list star to attract an audience to your big budget movie; the producers wanted Elvis for Tony, but Col. Parker turned them down, leaving Natalie as the film's only A-list star (note how her name on the poster is separate from and larger than anybody else's). So what if she couldn't sing, had limited dancing ability, and was Russian, not Puerto Rican? That had never stopped Hollywood before, and to be fair, Natalie acquits herself quite well in the film, particularly in the climax as referenced above.

Not only was this huge production riding on Natalie's shoulders, she was going through a turbulent personal life at the time, separating from (and subsequently divorcing) RJ and hooking up with Warren Beatty, with whom she had just starred in Splendor in the Grass. Also, most of the WSS cast already knew each other, having worked on the various stage productions or in other productions, so Natalie was the odd-man-out. With all of that, I'm not surprised that Natalie was aloof during production.

An aloof, semi-introvert like Natalie brushing up against a boisterous, full on-extrovert like Rita, and of course it's likely they'll steer clear of each other. And then to complete the animosity, WSS launches Natalie from star to superstar (remember, the movie's adjusted for inflation BO gross is $512 million, and that's just North America) while Rita, who wins an Oscar for the film, is unable to capitalize on the success.

What do dl lesbians think of the baby dyke character they had in West Side Story?

Even Carol Lawrence who played Maria on broadway and lost the movie role to Natalie understood why Wood was cast. Lawrence said even though they were successful on Broadway it was by no means certain the movie would be.

Lawrence was a real trooper and rarely had a bad word for any actors or theatre people except ex-husband Goulet. She loved performing and said she learned as a dancer NEVER to complain or let on something was hard. Jerome Robbins was an absolute tyrant and micromanaged the dancers so much that they were terrified to do anything without his explicit direction. In the scene where the gang throws Maria and she is caught by the others Robbins forgot to tell the "catchers" to catch Lawrence. She went crashing to the floor. Everyone froze in horror thinking she might be dead. When she lifted her head she saw the three understudies eagerly leaning forward with hopeful eyes. That's all it took--Lawrence said she jumped up calling out "I'm fine Mr. Robbins, sorry!" as if it was all her fault.

Drowning to death does make you a saint.

[quote] Rita gets a lot of fawning praise these days for being a Latina and old. She’s very full of herself.

Is it similar to the “fawning praise” Natalie is receiving for having had “personal problems” and being dead.

Her marriage was breaking up at the time and she had done a lot of her role prep separate from the rest of the cast. I’ve never heard she was mean or rude do anyone, but insecure and a bit isolated from the rest of the cast.

Rita downplays that she was dubbed in WSS and the other song she wasn’t is an easy speak/sing song.

Old hags sniping at old dead hags is so entertaining and fascinating.

You've won Rita! You've already beaten Natalie - you got the Oscar for WSS, and you're still alive... You got to live a long full life... Lol. The fact that she still hates this long-dead woman is just do hilarious!

Carol Lawrence played the role on Bway and would've been so much better than Natalie "I'll sleep with anyone" Wood(en). Having said that, yeah, Moreno's a self-absorbed bitch.

Rita’s incredibly spoiled and has been fueled for years by compliments in the NY theater world that she is an unsung genius whose career has been stymied because she’s “a double minority” when she’s actually a hammy, obnoxious, overdone mess

So was Rita the real issue with the awful Golden Girls backdoor pilot, or was it the script/premise that was the problem?

Another thing: Jerome Robbins, the leader of the WSS troupe, was kicked off the set by Robert Wise, a Hollywood veteran who likely had a stronger connection to industry baby Natalie, which may have furthered a demarcation between Nat and the rest of the cast.

That said, Robbins was very kind in his memories of Natalie in a 1987 Cinemax documentary about her life that I cannot find online anywhere now.

No class.

No surprise.

[quote]she looks good for her she though

Oh, dear.

She es fabulousa.

Remember the rumor that Natalie met her end because she caught Christopher Walken blowing RW on the boat and Wagner went ballistic.

R90 She says she isn’t. She says it is because Susan Harris was ill with CFS and wasn’t able to do rewriting. I buy that partly. But only partly. I have seen better actress do more with less. For example, Bea Arthur.

[quote]Rita Moreno shades Natalie Wood.

In MY Light Egyptian!

R85 No, sorry, Natalie had something special.

[quote] backdoor pilot

Pics please.

Agreed R84. And Carol Lawrence could both dance AND had an AMAZING singing voice. I wonder what she has to say about the new movie...

And she looks great here at age 84!

Oh, hell, yeah she threw shade at dead Natalie, but also at herself and other cast members who were dubbed. That has always been the biggest criticism of the original. Richard Beymer could not act, or sing, o dance. And yet...

Can we take Natalie down from the cross now.

I wonder if Liza actually does like Chita and not Rita.

I don't think the new Maria is singing in the original keys that are in the score. That makes a huge difference. Does Rita realize this?

R87 Natalie didn't live long enough to be considered a hag.

Sally Struthers is considered one of the nicest people in the biz. If even she has critical things to say about Rita, it's saying something.

Yes, Rita was beautiful and should have been given more opportunities, and she was a talent actress. But, you know, Rita Hayworth, another Latina, was able to become a full-fledged star even before her - granted, they altered her hairline with electrolysis and dyed her hair, but other stars of different ethnicities, had nose jobs, other procedures, etc. that the studios wanted. So she should enjoy that she looked beautiful in a small part back in "Singin' in the Rain" back in 1952 and that she's still in pictures! And leave Natalie alone!

In the video linked by Op, it's not Rita doing the shading.

If she had to say anything she could've just said of Ziegler, "And you sing it beautifully!"

It's nasty to make comparisons.

Here is a video of WABC- TV New York when Natalie Wood died on November 29 1981.

The news presenter - he was SO good looking.

[quote]Rita only starred in The King and I because Dorothy Dandridge turned down the role

Have you ever seen the movie? Rita is hardly the star.

[quote] She only has a Grammy for a Children's album, an Emmy as guest star on The Rockford Files and 1 Supporting Tony win (no other nominations). When you read she's an EGOT winner it sounds so impressive. She's probably the least deserving of the title.

She also has an Emmy for her hilarious performance with Animal in the Muppet Show. Plus the distinction of her EGOT was that she was the first performer to achieve it all in competitive categories (no honorable awards or lifetime achievements, just pure simple wins). I’m sorry but that’s an important distinction, especially when achieved by a woman of color with little opportunities and plenty of type-casting thrown at her.

[quote]Has Rita ever played against type

She played a New York Italian in The Four Seasons and an aging showgirl (at all of 5’2”!!) in the dismal “Portrait of a Showgirl.”

When Rita was cast in the film version of THE RITZ and got to recreate her stage role she said (in an interview) ‘this is one role Natalie Wood isn’t gonna get.’ Clearly Rita has issues.

Has Lana Wood issued a statement?

[quote]When Rita was cast in the film version of THE RITZ and got to recreate her stage role she said (in an interview) ‘this is one role Natalie Wood isn’t gonna get.’

Now I'm starting to suspect that it was Rita Moreno who somehow got aboard the Splendour and drowned Natalie.

Rita is a rancid, grudge-holding cunt. She thinks everyone is out to get her. She’s riding the current societal wave and is like “imma get paid off this shit”.

Lucy nailed Rita’s acting technique.

So apparently Rita thinks she should have played Maria in WSS and gotten the Best Actress award for it, instead of Supporting for Anita? Or maybe Rita's fine with playing Anita, but she wanted top billing? What's her damn problem? Rita Hayworth was a huge star, as was Carmen Miranda and Lupe Velez before them. Ok, the latter two had to also play their share of Latin sterotypes (though Ms. Miranda was a true original), and Hayworth's characters usually hid any hint of Latin background -- though one of her biggest hits, "Gilda" takes place in South America. But Ms. Moreno wasn't the first Latina like she seems to want to make her narrative. She achieved some good stuff indeed, so why be so bitter and hold grudges. Living so long and still looking good after all the people who did you wrong is actually the best revenge anyway. Now, if she only had the vocal chops to do a good "I'm Still Here" (But she doesn't. She might need to be dubbed.)

Don't forget Dolores Del Rio - another star Latina!

R116 Rita Hayworth was half Spanish as in from Spain, not Latina.

Spain had a big connection to Latin America, too. In studio executives minds, most were probably one and the same. Carmen Miranda, born in Portugal, raised in Brazil, was put in films that took place in Argentina, Brazil, etc.

R105 Apparently Rita’s surgery is over exaggerated.

I get Moreno's resentment of Wood as Maria, and I also agree with others that the weakest links in the film were the two leads. Wood was miles better than Beymer, but you could see the wheels going around. This isn't necessarily a vote for "ethnic-adjacent" casting: George Chakiris was the son of Greek immigrants to America, raised in Ohio, and he kicked ARSE as Bernardo. There was just something "less than" with regard the two leads, who were no match for the excellence of the supporting cast OR the tremendous score and choreography. The best bits went to the supporting players because they could really dance and sing.

The film is really the captive of the score and the choreography. The script is what you'd expect, it's a case of shrugging and realising "it is what it is".

You watch this film for the big numbers. The poster upthread who didn't watch past the opening is a fool: the rooftop dance, the dance at the gym, the dance in the garage - and a couple of the less high octane songs became classics for a reason. It's just too bad no one who could do justice to them was singing them.

Moreno's resentment is understandable on some level, but it wasn't Wood's fault, why blame Wood? My view of Wood's performance is that it was less than ideal, but Wood gave it everything she had - she was a childhood actor and a trouper, and it showed.

The star system was not Wood's fault, nor was the cash register aspect of moviemaking. And God knows, Wood herself paid a very high price for that system and what it did to young stars.

Moreno may have a point, but the system that made Wood a start got her raped at 15 at a minimum. Moreno should put her anger where it belongs.

[quote]So apparently Rita thinks she should have played Maria in WSS

Maybe she thought she should have played Maria in The Sound of Music?

George Chakiris who was so good as Bernardo, had actually played Riff in the stage production of WSS in London. Yes, the skin darkening makeup is unfortunate, but he's wonderful in the film. He was still looking good, too, last time I saw a photo him.

Excerpts from Rita Moreno: A Memoir:

“I was in complete awe of Jerry Robbins. He could be frightening to work with, because he could be so temperamental, ferocious, and even mean. Before he left the set of The King and I to go back to New York, Jerry had told me that he was going to make West Side Story on Broadway. He said that he thought I'd be perfect for the part of Maria, the part eventually played by Natalie Wood in the film, and asked whether I’d audition for it.“

“And, of course, it was uncomfortable for Hispanics to see Natalie Wood play Maria, especially because we’d heard that Natalie hadn’t wanted the part, but had been so prevailed upon to take it that she couldn't refuse. Natalie seemed uncomfortable in her role as Maria when she was around us, a rowdy, raucous group of dancers. This may explain her nonengaging behavior with us “Gypsies” throughout the shoot. It might have been helpful had we been able to bond with Natalie, but she kept her distance.”

God, r124, Rita is such a whining bitch. Her presence alone makes me want to avoid this remake.

R123 I still don’t think he should’ve won an Oscar for his performance. Monty Clift should have for Judgement at Nuremberg. Rita on the other hand deserved her Oscar.

I wonder if she resented not being cast as Beth Jarrett in Ordinary People.

Natalie may have been uncomfortable being around a group of dancers since she had been a child actress, playing roles and probably being tutored on set, away from a normal school, while making classics such as "Miracle on 34th Street" and "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir". Whether she had misgivings about taking on the role of Maria, her acting was quite good, and even if Ms. Moreno thought she was aloof, that's hardly a condemnation of behaving like a professional, which Natalie Wood, often called the film world's "youngest veteran" based on a long list of credits as a youngster, certainly was.

Rita's EGOT is a joke apart from her WSS win and Tony for Supporting.

Dame Angela should have won the Oscar for either Gaslight or The Manchurian Candidate

She should have got the Emmy for the TV version of Sweeney Todd

And an Emmy for the soundtrack of any of her musicals

Rita is proof EGOT doesn't mean the highest calibre of talent.

R129, you know, they are both good. The world is big enough for many talented people

Is this a safe place to discuss the talents of Rita Wilson and Rita Rudner?

I can’t stand this bitch Rita. So fucking overrated and nasty attitude.

Rita's EGOT is a joke apart from her WSS win and Tony for Supporting.

Dame Angela should have won the Oscar for either Gaslight or The Manchurian Candidate

She should have got the Emmy for the TV version of Sweeney Todd

And an Emmy for the soundtrack of any of her musicals

Rita is proof EGOT doesn't mean the highest calibre of talent. Posted

^^It was a bit apples and oranges. Moreno lit up the screen as Anita, but I'd be the first to agree that Lansbury's performance as the sociopathic mother of the doomed Laurence Harvey in "The Manchurian Candidate" was something at a far higher level - as dark political drama, TMC is one of the champs.

Tommy Lee Jones was terrific in "The Fugitive" - but if you're asking me if he deserved the Oscar rather than Ralph Fiennes' performance as Amon Goeth, the concentration camp commandant - no fucking way.

The Academy just doesn't always go by gravitas; and then, sometimes, it only goes by gravitas and deserving performers in lighter roles get overlooked.

It's a crapshoot, really.

[quote]Rita gets a lot of fawning praise these days for being a Latina and old. She’s very full of herself.

Exactly. All she ever does is talk about Latina this, Latina that. Who cares?!

^*the concentration camp commandant in "Schindler's List"

R135 The same could be said for white Americans.

Rita acts like she's spent the past 80 years rolling tamales in a bodega. She lived on Long Island and was on Broadway by the time she was 13.

[quote]Back then, people didn’t need to see their exact replicas on screen to feel… validated.

No, R63.

Back then they wouldn't allow most people that looked like Rita on screen. People have always wanted to see people who look like themselves.

[quote]Humans are humans. Stop obsessing and subdividing people by slight differences in fucking genetic pigmentation.

I can tell nothing makes your day more bright than waking up white.

R136 & R137 Latinos are always desperate to be accepted by whites, and many like herself consider themselves white, so then be white. Integrate instead of always acting like you’re special because you’re “Latina.” She wants it both ways - wants to be white but wants special attention.

R140 That’s white people’s fault. If they weren’t so controlling of who is and isn’t considered white, Latinos would probably have an easier time assimilating into a white identity. The fact you guys consider someone like Jennifer Lopez a woman of color and not one of your own proves my point.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is another white Puerto Rican, yet white people don’t embrace him as one of their own. Why?

[quote] [R136] & [R137] Latinos are always desperate to be accepted by whites, and many like herself consider themselves white, so then be white. Integrate instead of always acting like you’re special because you’re “Latina.” She wants it both ways - wants to be white but wants special attention.

Latino is not a race, idiot. It’s an ethnicity. Moreno’s race = white. She is a white Latina. All based upon rules and constructs that she did not create.

White supremacist like you spend day and night trying to come up with new ways to discriminate. Which impacts the quality of life for millions of people. Which is of course the intention. Then you turn around and claim that the victims of your discrimination are “desperate for acceptance.” Desperate for equality and desperate for “acceptance” from brain dead morons (like you) are not the same thing.

She seems a bit racist

I would love to see a young Liza Minnelli playing Maria with jazz hands.

R142 Who'd want to actually embrace him? He'd want camera and mics around anyway.

Did anyone see Rita on The View this morning?

I dunno. Growing up I watched these movies and enjoyed them. I never thought about anybody being miscast, I just bought it all. I never even minded scenes in cars with the fake scenery in back. People today overthink everything.

Don't forget the Luigi arms, r145.

R121 excellent, excellent post.

[quote] That was extremely disrespectful to her long-dead co-star. So unnecessary.

[quote] She only has a Grammy for a Children's album, an Emmy as guest star on The Rockford Files and 1 Supporting Tony win (no other nominations). When you read she's an EGOT winner it sounds so impressive. She's probably the least deserving of the title. I never paid much attention until I saw how mean she was. And to think she beat our Judy for the 1961 Oscar!

[quote] Her resume is hardly outstanding.

[quote] There's a reason she was never given an special guest star on Murder, She Wrote

[quote] This reminds me of the gloriously DL thread tearing into Olivia DeHavilland for saying she lost the Oscar for GWTW as she should have been nominated in LEAD and that she stopped believing in God when she lost.

[quote] Rita's EGOT is a joke apart from her WSS win and Tony for Supporting. Dame Angela should have won the Oscar for either Gaslight or The Manchurian Candidate She should have got the Emmy for the TV version of Sweeney Todd And an Emmy for the soundtrack of any of her musicals Rita is proof EGOT doesn't mean the highest calibre of talent.

[quote] Rita's EGOT is a joke apart from her WSS win and Tony for Supporting. Dame Angela should have won the Oscar for either Gaslight or The Manchurian Candidate She should have got the Emmy for the TV version of Sweeney Todd And an Emmy for the soundtrack of any of her musicals Rita is proof EGOT doesn't mean the highest calibre of talent. Posted

[quote] She seems a bit racist

Fuck off Troll

Rita puts the EGO in EGOT.

After all this discussion, and all of Rita's press, the movie will still flop. Most people don't wanna see a dancing gang.

At the very least, I doubt it will be the phenomenon that the 1961 film was.

They should've changed the title to "West Side Club." That would've drawn all the gays.

I don't care if Natalie personally pissed into everybody's coffee on set while laughing and mocking them. The movie was filmed more than sixty fucking years ago and she died tragically and far too young forty years ago, and anybody who still resents her enough to i publicly nsult her on the anniversary of her death is a walking, talking personality disorder.

Rita was never as big a fag hag as Natalie.

Moreno is a lot like Robert Reed in that they feel their training never resulted in the career they expected and bitterness set in.

Beymer and Wood are terrific in the film. If they weren't you wouldn't get sucked into their love story and be in tears as Tony is dying in Maria's arms. Who else would have been better as Tony in that period? Wagner, Hunter, Beatty, Perkins? I don't think so. Funny too that on stage where a singer is totally exposed Chita a dancer could sing the ENTIRE role of Anita where in a film Rita had to be dubbed for two thirds of it. Rita's comment is pretty rich. 60 years later and she can't let go. Dear god she was 30. You would think she was 12 and it was her mother or father who did it to her.

And José Ramón Gil Samaniego was as big a star as Hollywood has ever had.

[quote] I don't care if Natalie personally pissed into everybody's coffee on set while laughing and mocking them. The movie was filmed more than sixty fucking years ago and she died tragically and far too young forty years ago, and anybody who still resents her enough to i publicly nsult her on the anniversary of her death is a walking, talking personality disorder.

Take Natalie down from the cross. Speaking truthfully and being resentful are 2 different things. Drowning to death doesn’t qualify Natalie for sainthood.

[quote]And José Ramón Gil Samaniego was as big a star as Hollywood has ever had.

Magdalena Montezuma was bigger

As a non-american , it is very hard for me to understand how it is considered more legit having a girl of colombian descent playing maria. If people are gonna make a big deal about the character’s ethnic background, how is anything other than a puerto rican actress acceptable? Isn’t it more offensive to assume latin american countries are interchangeable?

Wasn't Natalie tangentially involved with Boys in the Band? She was bffs with Mart Crowley. Did she partly finance the play and/or the film?

Perkins could have done his own singing at Tony, as he had starred on Broadway in Frank Loesser's "Greenwillow" a year earlier and had a very nice singing voice, as evidenced by the OCR. But I guess he followed that up with his iconic Norman Bates in "Psycho", which pretty much changed him from being a sweet juvenile (or even a lovable former gang member like Tony in WSS) on screen from then on.

So if someone plays a doctor, should they have to go to medical school first?

I like her, but that's rich coming from a woman who won an Oscar for a musical performance that was mostly dubbed as well.

"as Tony", not "at Tony", mea culpa

Esta puta.

And poor Audrey didn't even get a lousy nomination!

Puerto Ricans come in all shades, just like Cubans. In addition to the Spanish, there were people from Corsica, Germany and France who emigrated there. There is a town, Ponce, in Puerto Rico that was settled by Germans. My PR boyfriend looked like John Travolta with the same blazing blue eyes.

Most Puerto Ricans are spicy white people.

OH GOD, WHO CARES? DID MELONI PRESENT DICK AND HOLE TO HER IN THEIR OZ SCENES?!?!

R109 I meant that the only reason she had that role in The King and I is because Dorothy Dandridge rejected both roles that were offered to her on the advice of Otto Preminger. That’s how racist Old Hollywood was. An African American and a Puerto Rican woman were interchangeably.

R64- Not only is she not a nice person but she's not too bright either.

[quote]My PR boyfriend looked like John Travolta with the same blazing blue eyes.

Maybe the Irish (his mother's side) in him. His father's people were from Palermo, Sicily.

interchangeable*

R175- His father's people- you sound like that bitch VETA from Mildred Pierce.

This thread has predictably slid down the shitter.

What if Rita wasn’t being shady towards Natalie and meant that we actually get to hear Rachel Zegler’s singing voice unlike Natalie who was dubbed?

Rita played the Lily Tomlin role in the "9 to 5" series on ABC. I wonder what she was like to with there. Valerie Curtin, Rachel Parton, and Jean Marsh co-starred. Sally Struthers took over the role when the show went into first-run syndication.

R163 Didn’t Mart writ it while living in her guest house or something?

R72. Aww, I bet your life has been sooo hard. Like a child born in Africa without food or water. Yeah, While you type away on your fucking smartphone.

Your victimhood is wonky. Try being a go getter.

R162 What makes it worse is Rachel Zegler is half Polish. Not even fully Colombian. They should have cashed a brown or black Puerto Rican woman in the role.

cast*

Nothing is ever good enough for Rita. When she was nominated for her best supporting actress Tony in The Ritz on Broadway, she complained endlessly in the press that she should have been nominated as a lead (it's definitely a supporting role). When she was announced as the winner, she strode onstage, took the award, then turned to the audience and said "The only thing I support in The Ritz is my beads."

So many lies in this thread. Moreno never disparages Wood. She says it was too bad there were not more Latinos in the cast. And her current comment is just that Rachel was able to do her own singing. But I guess this racist anti-Moreno Troll (we know who you are) is on a tear. Most of the posts here are his.

r185, I had to look, and indeed she did. I presume it was due to the arcane Tony rules about names above the title or something.

Beyond that, she's just ON all the time, isn't she? Seems so exhausting.

Poor Joe Smith at his very advanced age was like who the fuck was that woman?

R185 is trying to make it different than it is. Moreno says several things before the famous “I don’t support…” so it’s not like she strode up there, dropped an abrasive comment, & left.

Good point R162. If the filmmakers were striving for authenticity, a Puerto Rican actress should have been hired. I remember the controversy that arose when Puerto Rican JLO was cast as Mexican Selena in that biopic. I guess that was more controversial since Selena was a real person.

They *say* that Natalie Wood fell of a dinghy 40 years ago. And just like that......she had now been thrown under the bus.

So, Rita wanted to play Maria? Moreno was 30 when the film came out! Maybe Rita shoulda played Rizzo in Grease instead of Stockard Channing!

Audrey Hepburn was 32, and apparently Hollywood's first choice! Can you imagine?

R155- It wouldn't have drawn anyone. West Side Club is out of business.

Channing should have asked Moreno for the name of her plastic surgeon.

I saw her on Kelly and Ryan this morning R147.

They were fawning over how youthful she looks. Rita rolled her Rs and claimed it was due to the good Latino genes or something along those lines. Swore she never had work done.

Is she using the old tape under the wig trick?

Rita and Jane Fonda are morphing into each other.

Oh please. Rita did not intentionally insult Natalie Wood. It was a standard practice to dub singing voices, if they were unsuitable for the singing role. It was determined, at that time, that Natalie Wood’s singing voice was not powerful enough for the role. Who knows? Maybe Natalie Wood wanted to have her voice dubbed.

[quote]Maybe Natalie Wood wanted to have her voice dubbed.

She most certainly did not. When she was signed, she was told she could do her own singing and pre-recorded the entire score. She was furious when she found out shortly before the opening that Nixon had been called in to dub her singing voice. There used to be examples of her own WSS tracks on youtube but I don't know whether they're still there

R121 Rita was also raped by her agent.

R110 Helen Hayes was the first performer to win EGOT.

Not to diminish her accomplishments but Rita's wins don't really compare to even many of the Triple Crown Winners who have won for spectacular performances

R200, I didn’t know that fact. She might have had a good singing voice, but maybe it was not the right voice for the role.

Wood's singing voice was fair, you can hear it Gypsy. She could carry a tune. But WSS requires much more than that.

As much as I love Wood and Hepburn in WSS and MFL they had to have been pretty delusional and spoiled movie stars to think they could have sung these scores without driving paying customers into the streets. The examples that exist are really horrible.

R158, if this is a contest, I WIN!

I can't see from that small thumbnail but is Ansel "big cock" Elgort in that video at OP?

They even dubbed people who were trained singers. Juanita Hall was dubbed in South Pacific.

Here's the version with her actual voice.

R200, yes, that's true. But that just shows you how clueless she was. She could barely act, let alone sing!

R206 Lee Grant lost the best years of her career to being blacklisted, it is easy to understand her bitterness

Peggy Wood was an operetta and musical theater star in her youth yet was dubbed in SOM.

Somebody needs to restore South Pacific. The film has gotten very discolored with age.

When Wood was signed for TSOM, R&H thought she could do her own singing, maybe with the high notes dubbed in. But her vocal takes were deemed unusable due to her age. She was a great operetta star in her youth and played the lead in the original production of Noel Coward's Bitter Sweet.

Rita raped me, R201.

Mart Crowley was Wood's personal secretary for several years. They were great friends. She did support him and allowed him to live in her guesthouse so that he could write Boys in the Band.

[quote] "Rita's EGOT is a joke apart from her WSS win and Tony for Supporting."

This. It's an extraordinary accomplishment...when fully warranted. Hers was not.

[quote] "Dame Angela should have won the Oscar for either Gaslight or The Manchurian Candidate. She should have got the Emmy for the TV version of Sweeney Todd. And an Grammy for the soundtrack of any of her musicals."

ALSO this. Lansbury should've EASILY reached EGOT status decades ago. That this didn't happen, is truly tragic. Gods know she would've been FAR more deserving, and a hell of a lot more gracious.

So Lansbury didn't win an Oscar or an Emmy or a Grammy? Only a what the hell is that Tony?

And the only soundtracks she was on were Till the Clouds Roll By, Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Mrs. Santa Claus?

She wasn't so much.

Angela Lansbury has won six Tony Awards.

R206, right. Tell that to Cloris Leachman. She didn't become a star until her mid-forties, yet didn't make a career out of being a professional victim like 'poor' Lee Grant. The woman was so f'd up she had a complete facelift when she was around 35.

R217 she was the lead on all her Broadway musical soundtracks, some of them won the Grammy but the rules were different then and the Producer not the performer won

I'm sorry, I must correct myself. When I said she won her Emmy as guest star on The Rockford Files, I didn't mention Rita has a second award for her individual performance on "The Muppet Show"!

R200- Here is Natalie Wood singing Tonight in her OWN voice.

Rita held Natalie's feet apart while Kirk Douglas raped her.

And then she took Natalie's shoes.

She could have a hundred Tonys which don't equal a single Oscar except on DL. And she NEVER sang on a Broadway musical soundtrack because there is no such fucking thing!

R223 That’s not funny especially considering Rita is a rape victim too.

It's a little early to go shopping, isn't it, Renee?

Thanks for the clip r222. Am I wrong to prefer Natalie Wood’s voice? It may not be operatic, but it’s certainly not “thin” either. I mean she really could sing.

I was molested…..by RITA!!!!

Natalie actually sounds reasonably good in "Gypsy". In "West Side Story", not so hot. I mean, she's in tune mostly, but it's an unsupported tone singing a difficult piece of music clearly beyond her reach to be effective in a professional setting.

R225 I mean, I laughed.

[quote] Rita's EGOT is a joke apart from her WSS win and Tony for Supporting.

If it's such a joke, how many do you have?

I notice Natalie’s daughter, who runs the official Natalie memorial Instagram account, conspicuously omitted Rita Moreno’s name from this Instagram post. Good.

R232 But she also believes Robert Wagner had nothing to do with her mother’s drowning.

R233 So?

When Spielberg started praising Natalie's performance Rita told him to put a sock in it.

That Natalie Wood Instagram account is hilarious. So damn over the top. "Natalie loved to read, which was just one of the countless reasons everyone loved her. Her love of books continues to be an inspiration to people all over the world."

Aww, I'm glad Natasha and Clover participated in the festivities. What's going on with Courtney? It would be nice to see her involved, but she seems more private.

Richard Beymer was so excited to come. What happened?

Natalie’s kid didn’t mention ANY of the performers except Zegler, who’s playing her mom’s role.

Really, anti-Moreno Troll, you come off as mentally ill. Are you? Because there’s no earthly reason for your over-the-top hated of Moreno.

[quote] When Wood was signed for TSOM, R&H thought she could do her own singing,

Hammerstein (the H in R&H) had been dead for four years at that point. They should have known not to trust his judgment.

[quote] Richard Beymer was so excited to come.

He’s 83. Of course he was excited to come, it’s a rare occurance.

Uh uh, sorry not true, R239. The post’s caption hashtags all of the actors except for Rita.

Smoke on your pipe and put that in!

Her EGOT was completed with 2 Emmys for guest star roles on TV (one of which was The Muppet Show) and a Grammy (for a kids album).

It's not like having a big career on TV and movies like Helen Mirren or Maggie Smith, or a movie and music career like Cher, Liza or Barbra..

Sorry, r242, you still come off as being mentally ill. Really, WTF is wrong with you? You're over the top in your hatred and your comments are puerile at best.

Rita Moreno is an international treasure whose 90th birthday will be widely celebrated. Natasha Gregson is a 51 year old lush whose life is curating her dead mother's instagram and maintaining the innocence of a stepfather who may have her mother's blood on his hands.

R244, An international treasure. That was funny.

She's as much of an international treasure as the Omicron variant.

If I were Rita, I'd have a chip on my shoulder. She won the Oscar for "West Side Story" and what was her next role in a major movie? A five minute turn as cock sucking prostitute. She elevated the material, proving her talent over and over.

Rita is an international treasure. Her work has been seen around the world. She's had stints in the West End etc.

[Quote] But she also believes Robert Wagner had nothing to do with her mother’s drowning.

What's shocking about that? One would think Gregson Wagner knew something about her parents' dynamic and thus the likelihood of one dispatching the other.

[quote] She only has a Grammy for a Children's album, an Emmy as guest star on The Rockford Files and 1 Supporting Tony win (no other nominations).

Googie Gomez in "The Ritz" was not a supporting role. In the weird Tony rules, if an actor wasn't billed above the title, they were nominated in the supporting category. Dick Van Dyke the star of "Bye Bye Birdie" won for supporting.

Rita knew she wasn't supporting too.

[quote]"Dame Angela should have won the Oscar for either Gaslight or The Manchurian Candidate.

Lansbury lost in "The Manchurian Candidate" to Patty Duke in "The Miracle Worker", no great shame.

Was Duke Tony nominated?

[quote]She's had stints in the West End etc

Ah yes, in the key role as vacation cover for Petula Clark

Angie Lansbury was a vacation cover in The King & I.

I bet if Rita was a White American woman you guys wouldn’t downplay her EGOT achievement.

R254 Angela has 5 Tonys

[quote] Ah yes, in the key role as vacation cover for Petula Clark

You should’ve done your homework. Filling in for Pet Clark was not Rita’s only appearance starting on the west end. And she’s appreciated internationally because of West Side Story, which is a global classic musical.

You’re so transparent, Matt, in your constantly-spewed bile for those who aren’t white.

That's a busy dance card, r256.

'whose 90th birthday will be widely celebrated'

While I like her(despite her silliness over Natalie) she's not exactly The Queen of England.

How is your new movie performing Rita?

Too bad Natalie is no longer alive. They could have given Rita's role in the updated version to her, and then maybe people would have gone to see it.

Natalie wasn't a movie name once the 1970s rolled around. She wouldn't be on in 2021 either.

*one

[quote]You should’ve done your homework. Filling in for Pet Clark was not Rita’s only appearance starting on the west end

Funny how you won't name them

Enough with this EGOT crap. She won her Grammy for THE ELECTRIC COMPANY for Pete's sake, her Emmy's for the MUPPET SHOW and The Rockford Files (where at least she had to act), and then her Oscar for her grating performance in WWS...60 years ago.

Meanwhile, Cloris Leachman (among others), won EIGHT Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nominated and, along with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, most awarded performer in Emmy history. She also won an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Daytime Emmy Award.

And she was WELL-LIKED by her peers, something that in general can't be said of Ms. Ego Moreno.

More SJW claptrap. It’s a movie, honey. It’s not advancing shit.

R265, Tracey Ullman has been nominated for 27 Emmy awards and has 7 to her credit. Not sure where you’re getting your info from, but I agree with the rest of what you said.

R36 the argentinean spanish version would be "conchuda".

This conchuda just made me happy the film is bombing.*

Rita Moreno was long forgotten until very recently. Her still being alive and brown is all people care about. She’s a prop and a nobody. No one except some elder fags could tell you what she’s actually done work wise.

[quote] Rita is an international treasure. Her work has been seen around the world. She's had stints in the West End etc.

Who?

No one remember West Side Story. It’s beyond ancient and of its time. The idea to remake such a ridiculous musical for $100m is insane. Hollywood needs to stop with the virtue signaling. That’s the only reason it was made - to put as many non-white actors in something to show that they’re not racist. Now they’re paying the price. Even minorities don’t want to see this shit.

Is this why Rita celebrates Thanksgiving on November 29th?

Your charm eludes me, r269.

R271 it takes hubris to think you can remake a classic and only small-minded, limited people would think they could remake something like Rosemary's Baby only demonstrating they didn't understand what made it so good in the first place. Will someone ever try to remake an untouchable classic like The Wizard of Oz or Goodfellas? They're out of touch

Cloris Leachman was liked?! Cloris was a nut.

[Quote] Rita Moreno was long forgotten until very recently.

Hardly. OZ alone has cemented her immortality to the gay community.

What did she say about her husband? When I met her he was still alive and I talked to her about "The Four Seasons" and she told me it was their Christmas Eve movie tradition.

Yeah I thought she loved her husband very much. Is this another of Rita's trash them after they're dead people?

In her Netflix documentary Rita said she felt relieved when her husband died. I think it was something about how controlling he was of her.

Was he controlling of her when she and Brando returned to fucking on that movie with Pamela Franklyn?

Rita was born with the notion (which she still believes to this day) that she has a million dollar pussy.

Rita was very very pretty so she did when she was young.

When did Rita get a thyroid issue and when did she conquer it. The pop eyes were there and then they weren't.

Damn. Were they munchkins or was Rock Hudson a giant?

Did Rock and Bernardo fuck after the show?

Why did they use darkening makeup on George? He looks Hispanic enough without it.

R265 (Matt) is lying, which is one of his specialties. Rita Moreno is very well-liked, no regarded as difficult at all.

For some reason, possibly because she’s a Latina (Matt has a racist streak), he’s decided he hates Moreno, and is trying to do to her what he did to Julie Andrews and Jessica Lange (Lange’s sin was having the effrontery to play Crawford when Matt thinks Ham Dunaway was definitive.) The anti-Rita posts are all him.

R287 Well, not all.

in the photo@ R284 Chakiris reminds me of Booty-pig!

Hudson was 6'5' Chakiris 5'11"

“Rita Moreno”

“Natalie Wood”

Thish thread shucks.

Liza's jealous because WSS won best picture and Cabaret didn't. Just goes to show WSS was the better film.

WSS didn't have to face off against The Godfather!

Cabaret had Americans playing Americans, English people playing English people, Jews playing Jews, and Germans playing Nazis.

[quote]just a mean, difficult human being.

Sally Struthers shades Rita Moreno

I've listened to Wood and her real voice on the youtube clips. She has a charming voice. Moreno is awful to say this. Wood was beautiful in the role, like an angel.

"Hollywood used to cast ethnic looking actors in ethnic roles. They’d cast Latinas as Asians and Asians as Latinas, it didn’t matter."

Or Mickey Rooney.

Rita only became mean and difficult after Sally tricked her into appearing in one of those embarrassing “Save the Children” commercials.

Rita looks pretty hungry herself in that commercial. I expect an ED can easily makes someone difficult.

R299 except for Chrissy Metz, who wouldn't look hungry next to Sally Struthers?

Chrissy is touring in Hello, Dolly. In the Harmonia Gardens' scene she eats poached salmon with mousseline sauce and cucumbers, two plates of oysters, roasted squab and cress, an entire turkey with cornbread walnut stuffing, and 3 servings of date pudding. Followed by a cheese plate.

As if. Chrissy is low maintenance. Cans of Cheez Whiz and she's good to go.

Chrissy Metz is now doing Save The Chili commercials.

What’s the only kind of wood that doesn’t float?

Natalie.

If Natalie had won the Oscar, would she be better remembered?

What did Patricia Neal have that Natalie Wood could have used?

-a good stroke

R305 No. She's remembered because of me.

I wonder if she ever sampled James Dean's hairy pinga?

Jimmy was into Marlon not Rita.

[quote] If Natalie had won the Oscar, would she be better remembered?

That was never going to happen. She was a terrible actress. She was however a very good Movie Star. Huge difference. And after 30 years in the business and with a world class director, if she couldn't get that five minute finale right, she shouldn't have allowed near a sound stage ever again.

Natalie was a great actress, if maybe lacking some polishing around the edges in the early years. She got all the best roles in the 60's and Kazan, likely the greatest actor's director, adored her.

[Quote] She got all the best roles in the 60's

Oh, yeah. Her, Stefanie Powers and Jill St. John.

R312 are you trolling? Or are you completely ignorant about 60's cinema?

Hon, she was hardly Julie Cristie or Anne Bancroft.

R310 Rita you are never going to convince us she was a lousy actress. We enjoy her performances enormously and are moved by them. We understand your bitterness at never being a great star but it's not your fault you were born to always be a supporting player.

Rita is a bitter person.

She's probably pissed that she didn't get a chance to play Selena and the role went to J-Lo.

R314 funny cuz I always thought Julie Christie was absolutely wooden. And yes, I would say her 60's filmography is more than up to par with Christies.

West Side story Splendor in the grass with Kazan Love with a proper stranger Gypsy Tennessee William's "This property is condemned" Inside Daisy Clover

Bancroft, like Liz Taylor, got great , but older, more middle aged roles. That's a different age range.

Natalie was a passable at best actress, but there's no need for Rita to be such a cunt about a dead woman to this day.

Julie Christie was never "wooden."