Photo Blast from the Past: Rita Moreno

Welcome to BroadwayWorld.com's 'Photo Blast From the Past' series. Featuring some of the collected theatre gem's of BroadwayWorld's own senior photographer Walter McBride, the series will feature images from his archives of theatre and Hollywood related gems.

Today, we're featuring Rita Moreno, circa 1980. Moreno earned her Oscar in 1962 for her iconic portrayal of saucy Anita in "West Side Story," a role which drew on memories of the racial taunts she endured as a young Puerto Rican immigrant living in a Bronx "barrio." Her 1972 Grammy honored her performance on "The Electric Company Album," based on the long-running PBS children's literacy television series on which Moreno played multiple roles in a memorable cast that included Bill Cosby and Morgan Freeman. The Tony came for her 1975 satiric turn as flamboyant, talentless Puerto Rican bathhouse singer Googie Gomez in Broadway's "The Ritz." A six-time Emmy nominee, she won her first of the Television Academy's honors in 1977 for one of her many guest appearances on "The Muppet Show." The following year, she earned a second Emmy for her dramatic guest performance on "The Rockford Files."

Photo Credit: Walter McBride