Moreno tries raising 'Cane'
By Bruce R. Miller Journal staff writer | Posted: Friday, September 21, 2007
LOS ANGELES -- "Let's see...there's Liza Minnelli and Barbra Streisand and that 'Chorus Line' guy, Marvin Hamlisch, and me...and that's about it," Rita Moreno says as she ticks off the list of performers who have won an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy and a Tony.
More? "I don't know if you'll ever see that again," she says with a hint of remorse. "I come from an era where you did everything. You weren't just an actress...especially if you were an ethic person."
Born in Puerto Rico, Moreno broke so many barriers she could easily be the Mother Superior of Hispanic Show Business. "In the community, they call me 'la leyenda' -- the legend. There's a lot of admiration and respect. But it doesn't necessarily carry over to casting."
Good roles? They're still hard to come by, she says.
This week, Moreno begins another series stint as the matriarch in "Cane," a CBS drama about a wealthy Florida family involved in the rum business. A juicy role? "Ab-so-lute-ly," she says, emphasizing every syllable. "I will turn down summarily anything that just has me pouring coffee."
Now 75, she has been part of Hollywood's musical heyday (winning the Oscar for "West Side Story"), television's golden age and Broadway's rebirth. She's a hit on the lecture circuit, too, and continues to do concerts around the country. "I don't dance much anymore," she says with a smile. "I move. There's a difference. But you've got to keep working."
All those "other things," she says, were what kept her in the public eye when roles weren't there. "It's still such a mystery to me that I broke through. I have a theory, though, that all those old talk shows helped me -- Carson, Griffin, Dinah Shore. I would sing and then sit down and talk with the host or hostess and I wouldn't have a Spanish accent. That made some people say, 'She has the same problems we do.' And that was a huge breakthrough."
Now, she's tilting at the windmills of age. "There simply are no roles for women my age...particularly in musicals. Yet you see what Rob Marshall did with 'Chicago' and you think, 'That was astonishing.' He's going to be one of the great, great directors in film." Another rebirth is possible, she says, but the rules have changed.
"Debbie Reynolds and I were starlets together at MGM. We were under contract and she got 'Singing in the Rain.'" Quickly, it's pointed out, Moreno was in the film, too. "Oh yes," she says proudly. "I was in it, too, but I looked so different. I was such a baby. Today you can count my wrinkles." In the '50s, actresses couldn't rely on one talent. "We danced, we sang, we twirled the baton. We took ballet lessons, Spanish dance lessons. We did tap. We did everything. Now, we're dinosaurs."
Queen Latifah, she says, has the stuff to be another quadruple threat -- "she has a gorgeous set of pipes" -- and Catherine Zeta-Jones "is gorgeous, talented and can hoof...but there isn't a call for that anymore.
"I always get asked by the Latin press, 'How come we don't see more (Hispanic women) nominated for Oscars?' Well, they simply don't get the roles that make them eligible for that." Jennifer Lopez, she says, is a "phenomenon. She's in a class all by herself. But I'm still waiting for an actress to make that breakthrough in American movies. It's going to take a certain role."
Meanwhile, Moreno keeps plugging away. Co-star Hector Elizondo told her she was the reason he joined "Cane." In the series, "we're going to be vibrant and sexy...nobody has done this before." Moreno is signed for seven of the first 13 episodes. She hopes the series will occupy the bulk of her time.
Still, there are concerts to consider. And other, nonethnic roles to play.
"I've been Maria Callas and Amanda Wingfield on stage. I've been Jewish and Southern.
"In the beginning, it was impossible for me to get parts. But it really hasn't changed. The people who admire you aren't always the ones who do the hiring. So, you keep plugging away and, eventually, you get there."
With an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy and a Tony to prove it.
More? "I don't know if you'll ever see that again," she says with a hint of remorse. "I come from an era where you did everything. You weren't just an actress...especially if you were an ethic person."
Born in Puerto Rico, Moreno broke so many barriers she could easily be the Mother Superior of Hispanic Show Business. "In the community, they call me 'la leyenda' -- the legend. There's a lot of admiration and respect. But it doesn't necessarily carry over to casting."
Good roles? They're still hard to come by, she says.
This week, Moreno begins another series stint as the matriarch in "Cane," a CBS drama about a wealthy Florida family involved in the rum business. A juicy role? "Ab-so-lute-ly," she says, emphasizing every syllable. "I will turn down summarily anything that just has me pouring coffee."
Now 75, she has been part of Hollywood's musical heyday (winning the Oscar for "West Side Story"), television's golden age and Broadway's rebirth. She's a hit on the lecture circuit, too, and continues to do concerts around the country. "I don't dance much anymore," she says with a smile. "I move. There's a difference. But you've got to keep working."
All those "other things," she says, were what kept her in the public eye when roles weren't there. "It's still such a mystery to me that I broke through. I have a theory, though, that all those old talk shows helped me -- Carson, Griffin, Dinah Shore. I would sing and then sit down and talk with the host or hostess and I wouldn't have a Spanish accent. That made some people say, 'She has the same problems we do.' And that was a huge breakthrough."
Now, she's tilting at the windmills of age. "There simply are no roles for women my age...particularly in musicals. Yet you see what Rob Marshall did with 'Chicago' and you think, 'That was astonishing.' He's going to be one of the great, great directors in film." Another rebirth is possible, she says, but the rules have changed.
"Debbie Reynolds and I were starlets together at MGM. We were under contract and she got 'Singing in the Rain.'" Quickly, it's pointed out, Moreno was in the film, too. "Oh yes," she says proudly. "I was in it, too, but I looked so different. I was such a baby. Today you can count my wrinkles." In the '50s, actresses couldn't rely on one talent. "We danced, we sang, we twirled the baton. We took ballet lessons, Spanish dance lessons. We did tap. We did everything. Now, we're dinosaurs."
Queen Latifah, she says, has the stuff to be another quadruple threat -- "she has a gorgeous set of pipes" -- and Catherine Zeta-Jones "is gorgeous, talented and can hoof...but there isn't a call for that anymore.
"I always get asked by the Latin press, 'How come we don't see more (Hispanic women) nominated for Oscars?' Well, they simply don't get the roles that make them eligible for that." Jennifer Lopez, she says, is a "phenomenon. She's in a class all by herself. But I'm still waiting for an actress to make that breakthrough in American movies. It's going to take a certain role."
Meanwhile, Moreno keeps plugging away. Co-star Hector Elizondo told her she was the reason he joined "Cane." In the series, "we're going to be vibrant and sexy...nobody has done this before." Moreno is signed for seven of the first 13 episodes. She hopes the series will occupy the bulk of her time.
Still, there are concerts to consider. And other, nonethnic roles to play.
"I've been Maria Callas and Amanda Wingfield on stage. I've been Jewish and Southern.
"In the beginning, it was impossible for me to get parts. But it really hasn't changed. The people who admire you aren't always the ones who do the hiring. So, you keep plugging away and, eventually, you get there."
With an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy and a Tony to prove it.
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