We look at Hollywood legend Rita Moreno's career after the Oscars

NPR's Book of the Day

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Books, Arts

4.2 • 672 Ratings

🗓️ 28 March 2022

⏱️ 12 minutes

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Summary

The 94th Academy Awards were last night. To celebrate we're taking a trip down memory lane with one of Hollywood's greatest icons, Rita Moreno. Back in 2013 she sat down with NPR's Rachel Martin to discuss her life and career, including her win for best supporting actress in 1962. She told Martin that her acceptance speech was so short because she wanted to get off stage so she could cry.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh.
0:05.7	Oscar Sunday was last night. And boy, did you see when that one person said that thing during their...
0:13.1	Okay, you got me. We're actually taping this before the show. But there is an acceptance speech I want to play for you.
0:18.8	The nominees for best performance by an actress in a supporting role are...
0:23.5	It's from 1962, the 34th Academy Awards.
0:27.0	Rina Moreno is up for Best Supporting Actress for West Side Story, and she wins.
0:32.3	Rita Marino and West Side Story.
0:34.7	And she hugs everyone and gets on stage and offers possibly one of the most joyfully
0:39.7	efficient speeches of all time. I can't believe it. Good Lord. I leave you with that. And she walks
0:49.8	off stage, apparently, to cry. That's what she told NPR's Rachel Martin when they talked back in
0:54.9	2013. Marino had just come out with a new memoir, and she talked about what that win meant
0:59.7	and how it helped her find a place within her community. In the U.S., national security news
1:06.0	can feel far away from daily life. Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors. On our new show,
1:13.9	Sources and Methods. NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people, helping you
1:19.1	understand why distant events matter here at home. Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or
1:25.0	wherever you get your podcasts.
1:33.4	You could hardly imagine more satisfying American story than that of performer Rita Moreno.
1:40.7	She was born in Puerto Rico and may have stayed there if her young mother hadn't decided to put the both of them on a boat bound for New York.
1:48.4	It was ferocious, and it took us days to get to the port in New York City. Needless to say that during the trip,
1:55.9	everyone was getting sick and everyone was up chucking and the toilets were over. It was pretty horrible. After a childhood filled with struggle in the Bronx, Rita Moreno's journey to stardom took flight.
2:02.6	From the Golden Age of Movies, where she performed alongside Gene Kelly and Mario Lanza,
2:07.6	to the height of her movie fame as Anita in West Side Story, and then the long years of struggle
	...

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