Chita Rivera and Rita Moreno in 2015.Photo:WENN Rights Ltd / Alamy
WENN Rights Ltd / Alamy
Rita Morenois paying tribute to Chita Rivera.
Rivera, the Broadway legend whooriginated the role ofWest Side Story’s Anitain 1957,died on Tuesday at age 91.
Moreno, who turned 92 in December, played the role of Anita in the 1961 movie version of the musical, for which she won an Academy Award.
“Over the years, we were sometimes mistaken for each other, which I always viewed as a badge of honor,” adds Moreno. “She was the essence of Broadway. As I write this, I am raising a glass to this remarkable woman and friend. Chita, amiga, Salud!”
Ariana DeBosealso won an Oscar for playing Anita in the 2021 Steven Spielberg film version. On stage, Debbie Allen played the part in a 1980 Broadway revival, earning a Tony nomination, and Karen Olivo won a Tony for her Anita performance in the 2009 revival.
OnInstagram, DeBose, 33, called Rivera “a force.” She continued, “In truth she made me nervous. To be in her presence was to behold greatness. I always got the sense that she had great expectations, but none greater than the ones she held herself to… I am heartbroken and yet ever inspired as she showed so many of us what was possible. Rest well Queen.”
Chita Rivera in Broadway’s “West Side Story”.John Springer Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty
John Springer Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty
Allen, 74,wroteon Instagram, “My Mentor, My Friend, Our Goddess of Inspiration and Joy - Thank You. Every moment of your life has been a treasure of what is possible. I will miss touching you, but I will forever hear your laughter and hold that baton of power you tossed my way.“d
In her 2023 bookChita: A Memoir, Rivera recalled her reaction to seeing Moreno onscreen in theWest Side Storyfilm. “How dare she? That ismydress, that ismyearring!” she wrote in the book. The movie came out when Rivera was costarring with Dick Van Dyke inBye, Bye Birdieon Broadway.
Ariana DeBose in “West Side Story” (2021).NIKO TAVERNISE/ Twentieth Century Fox
In a statement Tuesday, Rivera’s daughter Lisa Mordente said the Tony winner died peacefully in New York after a brief illness. She will have a private funeral and a memorial service that will be announced later.
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Rita Moreno in “West Side Story” (1961).Silver Screen Collection/Getty
Silver Screen Collection/Getty
Rivera won Tony Awards forKiss of the Spider WomanandThe Rink.She’s also known for Broadway musical classicslikeBye, Bye Birdieand in 1975’sChicago, in which she played Velma Kelly.
Catherine Zeta-Jones, who won an Oscar for playing the same part in the 2002 movie ofChicago,remembered Rivera on Instagram Tuesday.
source: people.com
