WHO'S
GOT EGOT?
In
show biz, the ultimate honor is to be an
EGOT.
That
means you've won an Emmy:
a
Grammy:
an Oscar:
and
a Tony:
(E-G-O-T,
get it?)
Rita
Moreno was only the 3rd performer to achieve
EGOT status.
(She was preceded by the composer Richard
Rodgers and the actress Helen Hayes.)
To
see the performaces that won her all those
awards, stay tuned.
But, first, a word from our sponsor -
Joeslist.com - with a fabulous array of
items on our website:
Rita
Moreno has been in show business for over 80
years.
She first gained notice in a 1950 M-G-M
musical, "Toast of New Orleans," when she
danced with James Mitchell:
But
she became a household name a decade later,
winning a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for
her role of Anita in "West Side
Story."
Here she is, burning up the rooftop in
"America":
Rita
won her Grammy in 1973 for her participation
on an album of songs performed on the
Children's Television Workshop series "The
Electric Company":
Show biz folks love to perform for each
other at parties. For years, Rita
Moreno created a character named "Googie
Gomez," who would sing standards
hilariously.
Playwright Terence McNally saw Rita do
"Googie" at a party and wrote a part for her
in a Broadway comedy about gay bathhouses --
"The Ritz."
For this custom-crafted part, Rita was
awarded a Tony Award for Best Supporting
Actress in 1975.
She reprised the role in the movie version.
And
her first Emmy came for a star turn on "The
Muppet Show" in 1978:
Oh,
and by the way:
HAPPY
BIRTHDAY RITA!!!
(she'll be 94 next week):
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