Rita Moreno, Ben Vereen, & More to Attend 2024 TCM Classic Cruise

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) has revealed that iconic EGOT-winning actress, dancer, singer and producer Rita Moreno, Tony Award-winning actor, performer and  choreographer Ben Vereen, and stage and screen legend sisters Hayley and Juliet Mills are set to attend the TCM Classic Cruise, sailing October 26, 2024, from Fort Lauderdale to Cozumel and Disney Castaway Cay on the Disney Magic.

In addition, award-winning film director Joe Dante, renowned Hollywood stuntman Buddy Joe Hooker, legendary title designer Dan Perri,  and co-founder of Rialto Pictures and Founding Repertory Artistic Director of New York’s Film Forum Bruce Goldstein will join TCM hosts Ben Mankiewicz, Alicia Malone, Dave Karger, Eddie Muller, and Jacqueline Stewart, for film screenings, special fan events and in-depth interviews aboard this unforgettable classic movie experience at sea. Fans can join the waiting list for staterooms at tcmcruise.com.

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is a two-time Peabody Award-winning network that presents classic films, uncut and commercial-free, from the largest film libraries in the world highlighting “Where Then Meets Now.” TCM features insights from Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz along with hosts Alicia Malone, Dave Karger, Jacqueline Stewart and Eddie Muller, plus interviews with a wide range of special guests and serves as the ultimate movie lover destination. With three decades as a leading authority in classic film, TCM offers critically acclaimed series like The Essentials and Reframed along with annual programming events like 31 Days of Oscar® and Summer Under the Stars. TCM also directly connects with movie fans through popular events such as the annual TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood and the TCM Classic Cruise. In addition, TCM produces the wildly successful podcast “The Plot Thickens,” which has had more than 9 million downloads to date. TCM hosts a wealth of material online at tcm.com and through the Watch TCM mobile app. Fans can also enjoy a classic movie experience on the TCM hub on Max.

Rita Moreno 

Rita Moreno is a true Hollywood and Broadway legend having won all four of the most prestigious awards in show business: an Oscar, a Tony, two Emmys, and a Grammy.  Her countless film, television and stage credits span more than eight decades, beginning with her Broadway debut at age 13 and including her Oscar-winning performance in the Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins original film adaption of West Side Story (1961) and the 2021 Steven Spielberg remake, in which she co-starred and served as an Executive Producer. Moreno currently stars in such films as The Prank, a comedy-horror film released in theaters nationwide in March 2024 and the Netflix film Family Switch (2023). Other recent work includes the hit films Fast X (2023) and 80 for Brady (2023). Her documentary, Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It, had its world debut at 2021 Sundance Film Festival before being released in theaters and PBS’ American Masters series and is now streaming on Netflix. Moreno also appeared in the widely popular Latinx reimagining of Norman Lear’s classic TV sitcom, One Day At A Time which aired for 4 seasons.  In addition to a Peabody Career Achievement Award, a Kennedy Center Honor, and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, Moreno is the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom bestowed by President George W. Bush, the highest civilian award of the United States, and the National Medal of Arts bestowed by President Barack Obama, the highest award given to artists and arts patrons.

Ben Vereen 

Ben Vereen’s legendary performances on stage and screen over six decades transcend time. On Broadway, he has starred in Wicked, Fosse, I’m Not Rappaport, Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Grind, Jelly’s Last Jam, and A Christmas Carol. His role in Pippin garnered him both the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Vereen’s movie career began with Sweet Charity (1969) and includes Funny Lady (1975), which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for New Star of the Year– Actor, and All That Jazz (1979) directed by Bob Fosse. His extensive television credits include Chicken George in the landmark mini-series Roots and Louis Armstrong in Louis Armstrong - Chicago Style.  Other television appearances include How I Met Your Mother, Grey’s Anatomy, Hot in Cleveland, NCIS, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, OZ, Star Trek - The Next Generation, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Silk Stockings, The Muppet Show, The Carol Burnett Show, Pippin: His Life and Times, The Love Boat, SCTV, The Nanny, Touched by an Angel, Lois and Clark, Promised Land, Sneaky Pete, and You Write the Songs.  His television special Ben Vereen: His Roots received seven Emmy Awards. In 2022, Ben was a series regular on Chuck Lorre’s B Positive on CBS, and in 2021 completed multiple episodes of The Good Fight, playing Frederick Douglas. Vereen is currently starring in the Paramount mini-series – The Gray House – produced by Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman. Vereen has been inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame and the Dance Hall of Fame, and among his many accolades, he has received three NAACP Image Awards.

Hayley Mills 

Hayley Mills began her acting career unexpectedly at the age of twelve in a British crime drama called Tiger Bay (1959). It starred her father John Mills and the German film star Horst Buchholz. Her performance as ‘Gillie’ won the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival and a BAFTA for Best Newcomer. Walt Disney’s wife Lillian caught a London screening of Tiger Bay and thought Hayley would be perfect for Disney’s upcoming Pollyanna (1960), for which Mills won and a ‘special’ Oscar for her performance as ‘Pollyanna.’ Disney subsequently signed Hayley to a six-picture deal with the company. In the film The Parent Trap (1960) she played twins Susan and Sharon followed by In Search of the Castaways (1962), The Moon-Spinners (1964), That Darn Cat (1965) and Summer Magic (1963).  The film Whistle Down the Wind (1961) was an adaptation of the novel written by her mother Mary Hayley Bell. The role garnered Mills a BAFTA award nomination for Best British Actress. Other films followed including: The Chalk Garden (1964) with Deborah Kerr; The Trouble with Angels (1966) with Rosalind Russell; and The Family Way (1966) directed by the Boulting Brothers again playing opposite her father. She has continued to make films and loves to work in the theatre. Her television work includes The Flame Trees of Thika, Good Morning Miss Bliss and Wild at Heart. She recently played the role of Dr. Josephine Grant in the thriller Trap written and directed by M.Night Shyamalan which premiered August 2024. She lives in London with her partner of twenty-eight years, actor Firdous Bamji, and close to her two sons and five grandchildren.

Juliet Mills 

Actress Juliet Mills’ film debut was at the age of 11 weeks, in the classic British movie In Which We Serve (1942), directed by her godfather Noel Coward and starring her father, John Mills. At age 17 she was cast in the play Five Finger Exercise (1960), directed by John Gielgud, which ran in London’s West End and Broadway, and earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress. In the years following she has appeared in numerous stage productions in London, New York and many regional theatres in the U.S. Her first film in a leading role was in No My Darling Daughter (1961) followed by British comedies including Twice Around the Daffodils (1962), Nurse on Wheels (1963), and Carry On Jack (1964). Her American film biography includes films like the Western The Rare Breed (1966) the romantic comedy Avanti (1972) and more recent appearances including The Other Sister (1999), 7000 Miles (2018), and Poolman (2023). Her numerous television credits include Nanny and the Professor, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Wonder Woman, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Murder, She Wrote and many more.  For her performance in the first ever made for television mini-series, Leon Uris’s QB VII, she won an Emmy Award. For 9 years she starred as Tabitha in the NBC daytime soap opera Passions and most recently she portrayed a recurring character on the acclaimed series Grey’s Anatomy. She has been married to the actor Maxwell Caulfield since 1980 when they were cast opposite each other in the play The Elephant Man.

Photo credit: Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging and Bruce Glikas